


Pray for the Wicked

by sgteam14283



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Camp Nanowrimo, Canon Dialogue, Canon-Typical Violence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Family Secrets, Hate to Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, NaNoWriMo, Smut, alec ryder is an asshole
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-23
Updated: 2019-08-28
Packaged: 2019-09-05 17:44:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16815448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sgteam14283/pseuds/sgteam14283
Summary: Brought to Andromeda against her will, Anna Ryder tries to keep her head down in Kadara Port and forget about being a Ryder among enemies. Until she can't afford the protection payments and catches the attention of the Charlatan.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I really love the Mass Effect universe and Andromeda holds a special place in my heart. In the game I headcanoned my sis!Ryder as a bit of a dumpster fire and reading 'The Devil You Know (And the Devil You Don't) by spectreshepard (y'all should read that and 'Zero Hour' both are so good) gave me the idea as to what might of happened if she hadn't come willingly to Helius and this was created! This has been really fun to write over the past few years (despite it being a pain at some points).
> 
> This first chapter is a bit long, just to set everything up (also contains alcohol use). Don't own anything you recognize and I hope you guys enjoy!

Kadara was a cesspool.

Or at least to the rest of the cluster, that’s what the planet was. For Anna Ryder though, it was making the best of a bad situation.

Sitting on the window of her one room apartment, Anna lifted the bottle of moonshine to her lips and let the alcohol burn its way down her throat as she tried to forget where she was. Feeling the sweat slither its way down her back, she leaned her head against the windowsill and watched the mix of human, salarian, krogan, and angaran bustle about below. It was nearing sundown and that’s when the port of Kadara got interesting. Or dangerous. 

It all depended on your outlook on things. 

As Outcast enforcers emerged from their hangout, Anna watched the crowd part as they made their way across the market. Seeing that they were heading for another apartment block, she could guess what was going to happen; Sloane Kelly and the Outcasts ran the port and if you didn’t play by their rules, it was the Badlands for you. 

Ducking back inside to set the bottle on the rickety table, Anna flipped open her cracked omni-tool to check the time. Swearing when she realized she was due at work in less than half an hour, she quickly put on what little armor she had, scooped her work clothes into the bag by the worn mattress, and slid her knife into her boot. One last swig of moonshine and Anna stepped out into the sulfuric evening, making her way through the port towards the lift that would take her to the slums.

“Join the Outcasts today!” shouted a recruiter as Anna walked by quickly, keeping her head down and eyes averted. She didn’t want anything to do with either gang in the port, knowing that either the Outcasts or Collective would absolutely love to have the Ryder name attached to them. 

Sloane seemed to be content to leave her alone as long as she didn’t cause trouble, and she hadn’t had anyone claiming to be the Charlatan approach her, so she just focused on trying to make enough for the monthly protection payments at Tartarus.

Dancing at Tartarus wasn’t her dream job by far, but she was good at it plus whenever one of the customers got a little too hostile, Kian knew that she’d be willing and able to toss them out. 

“ _The only good thing about having Alec Ryder as your dad; you got some of his N7 training._ ” Anna said after they realized who her father was.

Exiting the lift, Anna made sure to give the pools of toxic sludge a wide berth and ignored the Oblivion dealers as she hustled up the steps towards the club. She could hear the bass through the doors and made her way inside, minutes before her shift started. Tossing an idle wave towards Kian, she wove through the crowd towards the back where she could stash her stuff and know that no one was going to steal it. Throwing on her outfit, which covered enough of the tattoo on her shoulder, she hastily put on some make-up to hide the shadows under her eyes and give her brown complexion more color. Making her way back towards the front of the club and took her spot in one of the cages, she started moving to the music as it pulsed around her.

Eight hours later Anna stepped down onto the dance floor and saw that there were still some customer’s at the bar, even though it was close to closing time. Her feet aching in the heels that she wore, Anna slowly made her way towards the bar and nodded for Kian to pour her usual. 

“Make anything tonight?” Kian asked as he poured a shot and slid it towards Anna with a smile. 

Anna shrugged, sometimes patrons tipped extra if they liked the dancers and they got to keep a portion of it. “Some, although I’m still short to pay Sloane. Looks like it’s protein bars for the rest of the week.”

“Any thought to that proposal I made?”

Anna downed the shot in one smooth movement and set the glass upside down on the bar before shaking her head. “I already told you no. I’m not in that line of work anymore.”

“And yet you come in here with that armor on. If that doesn’t say you’re up for some mercenary work, I don’t know what does.” 

“I told you it’s so I can get past Kelly’s lackey’s without getting hassled; they see me without anything on they assume I just stepped off the shuttle and can be scammed for a few credits.” 

“Alright, I was just asking.” Kian put his hands up defensively before shrugging. “But if you change your mind before collection day let me know.”

“Yeah, okay.” Anna said weakly, the anger that had been burning inside of her extinguishing, and gave him a smile to show that there were no hard feelings. 

Leaning her arm against the bar she debated getting another shot or just going home to the rest of her stash when a smooth voice said, “Shot of moonshine for me and one for her.” 

“Sorry, I’m done for the night.” Anna replied automatically while wondering if she was going to have to end her night by throwing someone out just because they wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

“Then more for me.”

At the response Anna turned around with a raised eyebrow. Normally she had to repeat herself, but the man next to her just smiled before downing the two shots in quick succession. “And you are?” she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. 

“Meeting someone.” he gave her a wink before sauntering off. 

Anna glanced at Kian, asking a silent question. 

“Reyes Vidal.” Kian said as he took the glasses off the bar. “Hell of a pilot and a real charmer.”

“Who does he work for?”

“Himself. He’s got a nice smuggling business set up.”

“Stop bullshitting me, no one's that successful on Kadara. Not with Sloane controlling the supply routes.”

“I’m telling you he's building up a nice little empire here. And he’s an information broker, since he works with the Resistance here and on Aya so he's got a contact network set up for that. So you know anything you need on someone will be good.”

Anna gave Kian a look that said she still didn’t believe him before making her way to the back room to grab her stuff and headed back to her apartment. Walking through the near empty market on autopilot, her mind processed what Kian had told her; that somehow Sloane Kelly was fine with an information broker working for himself on Kadara.

\--

It was another hot, sulfur stinking morning in Kadara and collection day was looming over everyone’s heads.

Sloane’s men were going to come for the credits and Anna didn’t have enough. Normally she managed to scrape by, the tips from Tartarus helped, but there had been unforeseen expenses to keep her Avenger in working order and that had hurt her. Plus patrons were being tightfisted with their credits and no matter how long she worked she still came up short. This always happened when the payment was getting closer; people wanted to save everything they could so they could stay under the “protection” of Sloane Kelly. 

Knowing she was out of options, Anna let out a sigh and pulled on her worn jacket before heading down to Tartarus. The club was moderately busy but Anna was able to sit at her usual seat at the bar. "Kian."

"Surprised to see you here on your day off." Kian said while pouring a drink for another customer.

"Yeah well, I had to keep my Avenger from melting." Anna replied once the customer walked away. Leaning an arm against the edge, she looked at her manager and let out a sigh. "Is that job still available?"

"You got armor?"

"You know I do."

"But I've never seen you with a helmet."

"That's 'cause I don't have one."

Kian was silent for a moment, taking time to think it over. Shrugging he said, "I'll contact the guy and pass it along. If he's up for it I'll message you tonight."

"You're the best." Anna threw the man a smile as she hopped off the chair and left the club slightly lighter.

—

Guarding supplies.

That’s all it was, just make sure no one tried to steal the cargo and she would have enough credits to hold off Kelly for another month and maybe get a few decent meals that weren’t ration bars.

It should have been as simple at that, but of course nothing in Anna’s life was simple. 

Trade on Kadara was alright but kept under Sloane’s control. That meant the blacker market on the planet was filled with smugglers who wanted to either steal from the Outcasts or charge a hefty sum to bring in goods. Anna might live under Kelly’s reign, but that didn’t mean she agreed with what the woman did. She tried to blend into the crowd, especially because of her last name, but even Anna was aware of the Collective and how they were starting to make waves in the slums.

And from the markings on the men currently shooting at her, the Collective was exactly who was trying to steal the supplies. 

“Heads up!” Anna shouted while pulling out a plasma grenade and priming it. Popping up briefly from the safety of the container she was currently hiding behind, she threw it and ducked back down. 

“ _Three…two…one._ ” she counted in her head as she stayed down, hearing the tell-tale sound of an explosion and the ground rumbled beneath her feet. But the sound of gunfire hardly paused and Anna knew from when the Collective first arrived that they were outnumbered. 

“Simple job my ass.” Anna muttered to herself while pulling out the single thermal clip she’d brought with and slammed it into her rifle. 

Knowing that her position was compromised, Anna waited until the gunfire lightened up as much as it was going to and ran. If she could get to somewhere else than maybe she could do some real damage. But there was too much gunfire to move without running the risk of getting shot and right now she wasn’t feeling that self-destructive.

“ _Ryder, on your left!_ ” Anna heard through the comms in her borrowed helmet and turned to see one of the larger guys charging towards her. 

“Shit.” Anna swore while skidding to a stop and bullets started to ping off of her shield. Taking a breath she thought quickly; there was no way she’d make cover and the brute would just follow her. 

“How long until the shuttle gets here?” she called out while firing a few shots to try and slow him down.

“ _Five minutes._ ”

“ _Okay._ ” Anna thought as she took a few steps back to delay what was quickly becoming the inevitable. “ _That leaves one option._ ”

Knowing that she was going to regret it tomorrow, Anna holstered her Avenger and clenched her hands to power up her biotics when the bruiser was close enough. 

“Say good-bye asshole.” she grit out before using her jump jet to leap into the air and slammed her fists into the ground, sending the shockwave rippling through the ground-causing her target to stumble and trip. Her helmet falling off as she moved, Anna pulled out her rifle and shot him point-blank, letting the thermal clip finish him off. 

Aware of the gunfire pausing for a second as everyone was taken by surprise, Anna used it to her advantage. She charged towards the nearest Collective agent in a streak of biotic blue, pulling out her knife before he knew what was happening, and plunged it between the seal of his helmet and chestplate letting him bleed out on the ground. Advantage gone, the remaining Collective forces trained their gunfire on her. After grabbing her knife, Anna dove behind two heavy crates and rolled to a stop against one of them. 

Taking a shuddering breath, Anna paused long enough to reorient herself and call out over the comms, “Get ready for some easy shooting.”

She then pulled on the last of her strength and threw a nova towards the cluster of Collective fighters. Gritting her teeth in concentration, she watched as her team didn’t waste the opportunity and focused on the floating Collective fighters. 

“ _Shuttle’s here, we need to go!_ ” 

Anna heard the yell over the pounding of her heart and knew that they were right, they needed to leave before all of them got killed; even with Anna’s impressive display they were still outnumbered. Arms shaking, she let the field dissipate and out of the corner of her eye saw the bodies fall to the ground. Stumbling, she moved as fast as she could towards the shuttle and collapsed onto the floor as it lifted off.

“Damn Ryder, didn’t know you were biotic.” One of the group said after pulling off his helmet and Anna looked towards the rest of her team to see that they were nodding their heads in agreement.

“Yeah, I’m surprised Kelly or the Charlatan hasn’t tried to get you to join them.”

“You have no idea.” she muttered as they flew away and whatever chance she had at staying in the port disappeared.

—

After getting back the team had given her their protein bars, seeing that she needed the extra calories after using her biotics. Grateful for the rare show of kindness, Anna had waited until she was back at her apartment before inhaling half of them and her hands stopped shaking. Then, knowing it was her last night in the port, she decided to climb one of the catwalks on the edge of the market and watch the sunset.

Leaning her chin against the railing, she watched Gavorkam throw streaks of red, orange, and gold into the air as it set. As the last strands started to disappear, she stood and made her way across the bustling market. People trading or buying with what little extra they had, heading towards Kralla’s to drink the evening away, or keeping their head down in the hopes that Sloane’s men would hassle someone else. Stalls selling illegal mods and weaponry, goods stolen from the Nexus or Elaaden, or the closest Helius could come to decent street food littered the place. 

Inhaling the smell of roasted rylkor and fiend covered in whatever spices they’d pilfered, Anna decided to make her last night in port enjoyable and splurge on a stall selling a version of hand-pulled noodles with pieces of fiend covered in a dark sauce. 

It smelled good so she wasn’t going to ask specifics.

Glad for the actual meal for once, Anna took her time walking through the market. Because despite Sloane’s iron grip over the city, and the constant stink of sulfur mixed with neon, the port had ended up being a place where sometimes she could forget that she was entirely alone in a strange world.

Walking past some Outcasts, she caught the last bit of their conversation.

“-the Hyperion finally made it to Andromeda.”

“One fucking year later.”

“And apparently the Nexus gave the Human Pathfinder a ship.”

Feeling the panic tighten her chest, instead of heading back to her apartment-she turned towards Kralla’s in an effort to get rid of the sudden panic in her chest. 

The dive bar was busy, but she managed to get a seat by the railing where she could drink in relative peace.

“You look like you need something stronger than Angaran moonshine.”

Anna glanced towards the voice and saw that it belonged to a familiar looking face. She’d seen him when she walked in, chatting up another human male, but had dismissed both because they seemed more into each other than what was going on around them. But looking at the styled undercut and dark skin for more than just a few seconds she realized that he was familiar for another reason. “Isn’t your date going to be upset?”

“Not my date, more like a business acquaintance.” 

Anna raised an eyebrow at the self-confidence of the stranger but admitted to herself that some company might not be a bad way to spend her last night in port. “You look familiar.” she said as the stranger sat across from her. “You ever been to Tartarus?”

“On occasion. You?”

“Used to work there.”

“Used to?”

“Sloane’s 'protection' is more than I can afford and my best shot at staying got blown up today.”

Anna paused, slightly narrowing her eyes trying to place the man. Then she got a profile shot as he turned to signal Umi for a round for them and it clicked. “Reyes Vidal.”

“Yes?”

“You tried to buy me a drink two weeks ago after my shift.”

Reyes vaguely remembered it, he’d been waiting for Keema to show up and had thought the dancer at the end of the bar looked like she might of wanted a free drink. But after her dismissal Keema had walked in and Reyes had forgotten all about it until now. “I guess I should ask your name since you know mine.” 

“Anna.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow, “And is there a last name to go with it?”

" _What the hell, I'm not going to see him after tonight. Might as well tell him._ " Anna thought before draining her glass and setting it down on the bartop. "Ryder."

"As in the-"

"Unfortunately yes." Anna broke in, knowing what he was going to ask. It was the same question she always got when they found out her relationship to the Human Pathfinder. Which was why she didn't broadcast it. “Let’s just say that my last name doesn’t earn me a lot of friends out here. But I know how to handle myself.”

"Since you're still here I don't doubt it."

After that conversation was easy and Anna started to feel the anxiousness from earlier start to leave her shoulders. By the end of their second round it was gone entirely and Anna opened her mouth to ask if he was interested in going back to her place when someone grabbed her shoulder and yanked it hard, nearly sending her to the floor.

“Hey!” she snapped, once she’d righted herself. “What’s your problem?”

“You were out in the Badlands today.”

Anna folded her arms, not liking the accusatory tone in the guy’s voice while noticing he wore Collective colors. She also knew that the rest of the bar had quieted down, watching the scene with interest. Not wanting to fight she started to move past the guy while saying, “You must have me confused with someone else.”

“Not a lot of people have biotics around here. Or red hair.” the guy said, grabbing onto Anna’s arm and squeezing it. “You managed to hurt a number of my friends. I just want to return the favor.”

“Take it outside.” Umi said in a tired tone, not wanting her business disrupted. But she knew that they’d ignore the warning and was ready for the fight that would break out soon.

“You start this, I’m gonna finish it.” Anna said in a low tone as she ripped her arm out of his grip and stepped closer towards him.

“You and who else?”

“Like you said, I’m a biotic. I don’t need anyone else.”

The guy sneered and gave Anna a shove that sent her stumbling back. “You don’t scare me.” 

Anna saw his fist pull back and heading towards her. Ducking, it barely sailed over her head and she grabbed his torso. Then in one move she flipped him up and onto the counter; his forward momentum continuing him onto Umi’s side of the bar.

Hearing him land with a _thud_ along with the sound of glass breaking, Anna smiled while letting out a breath. Turning to face Reyes, she felt something smash against her head and stars burst across her vision. Falling to her knees, she saw shards of glass in front of her and realized that one of his friends must have decided to come to his defense. 

“ _Not a bad way to spend my last night in port._ ” She hazily thought while pulling herself up with the help of a stool, ready to fight as many as it took to end it.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Anna turned around in time to see Reyes land a solid punch on the second attacker, an asari, which sent her careening into a table. Before she could tell Reyes to mind his own fucking business, he grabbed her and dragged them towards the exit.

“Hey!” Anna protested but Reyes ignored her as they stumbled into the market.

Reyes kept his grip on her as he pushed them into the crowd and Anna struggled to keep up, the ache at the back of her head getting worse the farther they went into the press of people. After what seemed like an eternity Reyes pushed them behind a stall selling weapons and let go of her arm.

“What the hell?” Anna spat out while glaring at him and rubbing the spot where he’d gripped her arm.

“I thought it best to get as far away from Kralla’s as possible. But I think we lost them in the crowd.” Reyes said as he ran a hand through his hair and looked at Anna. He knew that half the bar would’ve enjoyed seeing Ryder get her ass kicked and getting out when they did probably saved everyone a lot of trouble.

“I don’t need someone stepping in to fight my battles. I had it covered.” Anna gave Reyes a weak shove against the pre-fab steel and almost lost her footing but he caught her before she could fully hit the ground.

“Clearly.” Reyes deadpanned while straightening up. “Let me take you to Nakamoto, have him check out your head. You might have a concussion and probably need stitches.”

“No.” Anna said while shaking her head and instantly regretting the motion as her vision wavered. “I’ll be fine.”

“But-”

“I said I’m _fine_. God, why do I always find the arrogant ones?” Anna said over her shoulder as she turned to leave.

Reyes watched her leave and considered changing his mind about recruiting her into the Collective. He'd been surprised when Kian had given him the heads up about her finally taking that job that he had set up for testing out potential Collective members-that the credits she earned from Tartarus weren't going to cover the protection payment this time. And it had been sheer luck that she'd shown up at Kralla's that evening, when he was working a contact for information on Kelly's operations, so he'd decided to get a feel for Ryder himself.

But Reyes remembered what his men had reported earlier, how she’d cut through them with her biotics with what seemed little effort. And besides, having Ryder working for the Collective would piss Sloane off and make his organization seem much more threatening. 

“ _Even if she’s reckless, I could find things to keep her busy._ ” he thought as he headed back to his apartment to message Keema and make the credit transfer.

Heading towards her apartment Anna stuck to the back alley’s so by the time she got back, she’d cooled down enough that she didn’t want to punch a wall. Dumping her jacket on the chair, she headed towards the bathroom to fully take in the damage. Looking in the mirror she saw specks of glass glittering through her hair and knew that it was going to take at least a week to get all of it out.

Letting out a soft sigh, she turned her head until she spotted the gash. “Really did it this time Ryder.” she muttered while parting her hair to get a better look at it.

It wasn’t big enough to warrant stitches, so Anna swallowed the scream that threatened to escape as she used the last of her water ration for the week and then last bit of antiseptic on to clean it. After gently patting it dry, some moonshine helped to somewhat numb the pain and Anna collapsed onto her rickety bed. Closing her eyes, she was tired enough to let the tears fall and wondered if she could find a place in the Badlands before Alec started looking for her. 

“ _Maybe he’ll be so busy training Scott, he won’t even look for me._ ” she thought as she took a shaky breath and scrubbed the tears away.

The next morning arrived too soon and she waited for Sloane’s men to show up any minute to ‘escort’ her to the port gates. But the day passed and no one so much as pounded on her door. Confused, Anna was debating if she should risk it and go to Kelly’s compound to see what was going on when her omni-tool vibrated. Seeing that the message had arrived from an unknown sender, she paused for a few seconds before hesitantly opening it.

_The Charlatan has paid your debt. Welcome to the Collective._

Anna wasn’t sure how long she stared at the message. Ever since the Collective started making waves on Kadara she’d tried to avoid getting between what was shaping up to be a turf war.

But now she was right in the middle of it.


	2. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in updating, life got busy but here it is! A quick heads up, this chapter does have some alcohol use. Also timeline wise, we're now into the game proper so Scott and crew will be showing up soon. Enjoy!

Walking through the doors of Tartarus, Anna wasn’t sure what to expect. She’d received another message, still from an encrypted sender, saying that she’d meet someone representing the Collective at the club. 

“Heard you made some new friends the other night, Ryder.” Kian said as she walked up to the bar. 

“Don’t believe everything you hear. It was more of a ‘you hurt us so we’re gonna hurt you’ kinda thing.”

“Still, not a bad way to spend a night.”

“If you say so. I got hauled out of Kralla’s before I could have any real fun, but that didn’t stop Umi for sending me a bill for the damages.” 

“Tough. There’s someone waiting in the VIP room for you.”

Anna raised an eyebrow at the statement, she’d assumed whoever was meeting her would be out with everyone else and they’d go elsewhere. Or let the pounding music muffle their conversation. Heading up the steps to the second level, Anna self-consciously tugged on her worn leather jacket before walking into the room.

The door opened and Reyes looked up from the data pad in his hand, biting back a smile when Ryder was surprised to see him. “Anna.” 

“Ryder.” Anna said curtly, folding her arms and giving him a look. She wasn’t thrilled that the one person she could barely stand on this planet was the one inducting her into a criminal organization.

Reyes raised an eyebrow at the curt reply but dipped his head in acquiescence. “Ryder.”

“So, how does this work? I do a few jobs for the Charlatan and he leaves me alone?” Anna asked as she slowly walked close to Reyes and idly picked up the bottle of whiskey that was on the table.

Reyes tracked her movements like a hawk as he replied, “I’ve been told that the Collective’s paying your protection fee now, so you’re in for the long haul.”

“Awesome. So what is it going to be like then?”

“You’ll keep working here at Tartarus, but when there are special shipments coming in you’ll prioritize those.” Reyes set the data pad down and reached towards the small box that was in front of him on the table, pushing it towards her. “Your omni-tool.”

Anna looked at the box while setting down the whiskey, but didn’t take it. “Thanks, but I’ve got one.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow as he continued, “Your current omni-tool isn’t encrypted, anyone with basic knowledge could hack it and the Charlatan doesn’t want their confidence betrayed.”

“Then they should’ve met me in person.”

“Not an option.” Reyes said while inwardly smiling. If she only knew.

“Fine. I draw the line at Oblivion and Red Sand shipments though.” Anna groused, taking the box and shoving it into her pocket.

“You don’t get to set the terms, but I’ll pass it along.”

The dismissal was obvious and Anna resisted the urge to snap off a sarcastic salute, walking back into the club where the pounding music filled her ears and wondered what the hell she’d gotten herself into.

Reyes watched Anna leave and glanced back at the data pad, what little info his network had gathered on her. Something about her had struck him the other day, the way she seemed to have a chip on her shoulder and didn’t seem to care what happened to her. She was reckless, but the way his men described how she moved through the fight told him that Ryder had military training. But there was no mention of her in the Nexus database.

“ _It could have gotten wiped when the station hit the Scourge, I know that the power surges weren’t kind to the information banks._ ” Reyes thought as he scrolled through the information. “ _Or maybe things aren’t what they seem. It might be prudent to keep an eye on the Pathfinder's movement._ ”

—

Anna looked at the new set of armor, red with black detailing, with distrust. 

She’d been with the Collective for the past few weeks and hadn’t been called for any ‘special’ shipments. She wondered if maybe she’d skate by without having to actually do anything when the armor had been delivered to her place followed by a message telling her that she needed to be at the port gates at sunrise.

Attaching the magnetic clamps and sealing the armor was routine, even after all this time. Once everything was on, she tested the movement and was glad to see that even though the armor was new it hardly restricted her at all. Slightly smiling, Anna picked up the helmet and slid it on- clamping shut with ease. It took a minute for her HUD to come online but when it did everything responded like a dream. 

Taking it off, Anna turned it around to get a better look at the inside and spotted scratched initials on the edge of the helmet. 

_K. C. Nexus_

Her stomach clenching, she realized where the armor had come from. Taking everything off as quickly as she could with shaking fingers, Anna decided that she’d make do with her old armor and reached for the nearest bottle of whatever.

The next morning arrived and the pounding in her head wouldn’t stop. Anna groaned and buried her head under her pillow, wanting the headache to go away. But the pounding continued and Anna realized that the sound was actually coming from her door. 

“Ugh. Go away.” she mumbled while sitting up and wincing at the spike in pain the movement caused. Letting out a small groan, she forced herself up and shuffled towards the door.

“What do you want?” Anna asked while squinting against the sunlight.

Reyes looked at the woman standing in front of him in nothing more than a shirt and shorts with bed head and wondered how this was the same person who cut through so many of his men two months ago. “You’re late.” he said simply, arms folded.

It took a minute for Anna’s hungover brain to realize what Reyes meant and she closed her eyes while running a hand over her face. “…give me a minute.” she said while turning around to grab her stuff.

“Fine.” Reyes stepped inside the small apartment after Anna and raised an eyebrow at the chaos; empty and half-filled bottles littered everywhere, a bed that looked like it was going to fall apart any second was pushed against one wall, a table covered with gun parts, rags, and tools. And the armor he’d sent over shoved in a haphazard pile. “How do you live like this?”

“Carefully. Besides, it’s a good alarm for anyone who tries to break in.” Anna said from the other side of the partition where she was changing into her undersuit. “Why do you care?” she asked, rounding the corner and going for her old armor.

“I…don’t.” Reyes fumbled, not expecting the question. “It was just a question.” 

“Uhuh.” Anna quickly finished putting on her armor and grabbed her rifle. “Let’s go.”

Reyes looked at Anna for a second before asking, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Anna looked around to see if she had before shaking her head, “Nope.”

“Your armor.” 

“I’m wearing it.”

“Why not the new set from the Collective?”

“I thought we were late.” Anna avoided answering the question as she walked passed Reyes on her way towards the door. “I can-”

Reyes grabbed Anna’s arm and cut her off. “Put on the armor the Collective sent over.”

“Hey, let go.” Anna protested, trying to pull her arm out of Reyes’s grasp but he wasn’t letting go. “What’s your problem?”

“Put the armor on and there won’t be one.” 

Anna narrowed her eyes, wondering if she could get to her knife before he got to his but then figured it would be a draw and she’d piss the Charlatan’s errand boy off even more. 

“Fine.” she ground out and was finally able to pull her arm free. Taking off her armor as she stalked to the new set, she slammed on everything but the helmet and scowled at Reyes as she stomped through the door. 

Simmering, Anna was silent on the trip through the markets and towards where all the ships were docked. Standing behind Reyes as he chatted with Colt, Anna focused on a spot just above Reyes’s head. It looked like she was paying attention, but in reality she was trying to figure out how she could get out of this deal she was forced into. Once he was finally done with the small talk, she followed him towards a decently sized shuttle; big enough to hold a fair amount of cargo but still small enough to not attract attention.

“We’re headed-” Reyes started to say after running through his pre-flight checks.

“Don’t care.” Anna said in a sharp tone while strapping herself in, making sure the restraints hadn’t been tampered with.

Reyes raised an eyebrow, he could feel the anger nearly radiating from Ryder. If this was going to be the standard when they went out he needed to know she wasn’t going to put a bullet in his back. “Why do you hate me?”

“Do I really have to tell you?”

“Humor me.”

“At Kralla’s you pulled me out of that fight before I could finish it. I could’ve handled it. Besides, I don’t need anyone to rescue me.”

“Clearly. But at the time that asari blindsided you and it didn’t seem like anyone else was going to step in.”

“It’s Kadara, Vidal. No one helps anyone without expecting something in return.” Anna gave a slight tug on a restraint to tighten it. “But if you’re worried about a knife in your shoulder don’t be. I can play nice for the trip.”

“Good to know.” Reyes replied as he backed them out of the berth and turned towards the Badlands.

They made good time and landed in Spirit’s Ledge a few minutes before the pick-up was scheduled. Putting the shuttle into stand-by, Reyes wrinkled his nose at the smell of the sulfur pools. If it weren’t for the constant smell and the toxic water, Kadara could almost be a nice place. 

Anna followed Reyes out of the shuttle and automatically scanned the area for defensive points and any potential spots where an ambush could happen. Since Kadara was so mountainous there were plenty of places a sniper could nest, but the Charlatan had surprisingly picked one of the areas that wasn’t the worst in terms of options. “ _I might have to give them some credit, they know what they’re doing._ ” Anna thought as she saw another shuttle approach and slid on her helmet. 

“Just hang back.” Reyes said over his shoulder once the second shuttle had landed and lowered its ramp. 

“Gottcha.” Anna wished she had a pistol because while her Avenger was good in a firefight, at the same time in something as close quarters as this it was almost useless. Unclamping her rifle, she let it hang by her side in a clear show that she wasn’t going to shoot but ready incase everything went bell-end.

Silent, she watched the salarian greet Reyes with a nod while a second salarian walked out of the other shuttle carrying a large crate. Anna could see that the shuttle was filled with similar sized crates and for a brief moment, was curious as to what was actually in them. 

“ _You’re not supposed to care, Ryder._ ” she told herself with a slight shake of her head.

Letting her eyes wander over the terrain, something flashed in the corner of her eye. Flicking her gaze towards it, she tried not to show that something might be wrong until she could confirm it. There was nothing for a few seconds, but then she saw it again. 

“Reyes!” Anna yelled while running towards the cliff while shouldering her gun, knowing what was about to happen.

Reyes turned towards the yell and heard the sound of a gun firing-the bullet whizzing past where his head had been a second before. Not hesitating, Reyes grabbed his pistol and fired at the salarian nearest him. His angle was all wrong and the bullet went wide as the salarian’s dived for cover. Another bullet pinged off the side of the crate and Reyes knew he had to risk it and find better cover.

“Cover me!” he shouted over their comms.

“Do you want cover or for me to get the sniper?” Anna gritted through her teeth while hoping her angle was working to her advantage so the sniper couldn’t aim at her. “I can’t do both.”

“Get the sniper.” he said after thinking for a moment, realizing that it had been quiet for a few seconds and that meant that either the salarian’s had run out of bullets or were stalling until reinforcements arrived. Not wanting to find out if it was the latter, Reyes took a breath before pushing out of his cover and running to where he’d seen the second salarian go. 

“ _Okay, didn’t run out of bullets._ ” Reyes thought as they kicked up dirt by his feet as he dived towards the outcropping of rocks. Behind safer cover, Reyes lunged for the salarian while pulling out his knife and plunging it into his chest.

Nearing the top of the cliff, Anna paused to catch her breath and see if the sniper was going to try anything. But nothing happened so Anna used her jump jet to launch over the lip and onto the ground. Ducking as the stock of the rifle came swinging towards her, Anna sprang back up and threw a biotic lance in the direction of the sniper. The salarian went flying and hit the outcropping that he’d been using to take his shots from, slumping to the ground and after a few seconds got back up while reaching for his pistol. 

Not pausing Anna took out her rifle and pulled the trigger, hitting the salarian in the chest. The salarian hit the outcropping again but this time didn’t move. Anna stayed where she was, rifle aimed at him in case but nothing happened and she knew that he wouldn’t be getting back up again.

“Ryder, all clear on your side?” Reyes asked over the comm while looking towards the cliff. The third salarian had admitted to setting up the ambush; take Reyes out and they could sell directly to Kadara without having to go through him. So Reyes had made sure that it wasn’t going to be a problem in the future.

“Yeah. Be down in a second.” Anna said as she picked up the sniper rifle and gave it a quick once over. It was a nice model but she rarely used them, preferring mid-range assault rifles and pistols.

“ _Maybe I can get a few credits for it back at the port._ ” she thought while slinging it onto her back and shifting around to adjust to the added weight. Climbing down was easier than going up and Anna made it back to the meeting point in no time. Running a glance over the crates, it looked like they hadn’t been damaged that badly and Anna was glad that the salarian’s had been shit shots-whatever was in there could still be sold.

“Always have this much fun?” Anna asked as Reyes started to reseal the crates.

“You think the Charlatan would have wanted you to come if it wasn’t?” Reyes replied while pressing the lid on the last crate. “Help me get these onto the shuttle.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

Back at the port, Anna walked down the ramp and was about to wish Reyes a ‘hope to never work with you again’ when he said, “You’re not done.” 

Raising an eyebrow Anna turned around and gave Reyes a look, “Sorry?”

“You’re gonna help distribute this.”

“Listen. I said I draw the line at Oblivion smuggling-”

“It’s not Oblivion.” Reyes snapped. “It’s supplies from the Nexus.” 

Anna was silent, letting the words sink in. 

Supplies. 

That meant food, medigel, and hope for the few that still had it. 

“Where?” 

“The slums.” 

Anna nodded before hefting a crate and walking towards the loading dock. There were other Collective agents who met them at the dock and they quickly unpacked the crates, dividing up the medigel and whatever food there was. 

“The Charlatan wants some of the medigel taken to Nakamoto. Apparently he’s been running low since the last supply run.” Reyes ordered while quickly taking inventory of how much they had of what. 

Anna paused at hearing the statement; Nakamoto had patched her up a few times- always saying he would take whatever she could spare for his services. 

“Didn’t know the Charlatan’s helping him. Thought he was a former Outcast.” she commented casually, fishing for information that she might not otherwise get because it seemed the Charlatan kept most information compartmentalized. That way one person didn’t know the whole picture.

“That’s the only reason Kaetus hasn’t kicked him out.” Reyes replied while nodding towards a small pile and fingers flying over the keyboard of his omni-tool. “Take these to the nav points I’m sending you.” 

Anna’s omni-tool chimed a second later and looked at the points. “These are some pretty sketchy places, even for the slums.”

“That’s why you have the armor.”

Anna picked up the packages while wondering if she got hurt it would count for time served. Picking her way over the trash and usual debris that always seemed to be around, she skirted the Oblivion junkies slumped next to the shipping containers that had been converted into living quarters. Dropping off the packages was simple, place them outside the door and make sure the Collective symbol was visible. 

Done in no time and back in her apartment, she peeled off her armor and shoved it into a loose pile on the floor. She wanted to ignore the measure of confidence wearing it gave her, but at the same time not being able to.

—

It was the kind of morning where the sulfur wasn’t that thick so the walk to Kralla’s was somewhat pleasant. Stepping into the place Anna made her way towards the bar and as she sat down, did a quick scan to make sure she wasn’t going to get ambushed again. The gash on her head had healed by now, but she got phantom aches from it every now and then.

“You’re not going to start another fight are you?”

Anna turned towards Umi’s voice and saw the asari staring at her, arms crossed. “I didn’t even start it. And I paid you for the damages didn’t I?”

“A month after it happened.” 

“Don’t worry, I won’t be here long enough to piss anyone off.”

Umi didn’t reply but set a glass in front of Anna and poured a shot. “You want me to leave the bottle?”

“You know me so well.”

“It’s not even eleven.” Reyes said as he slid into the seat next to Anna and wondered if her drinking was going to be a liability down the road. Even if she was a biotic, it could lead to spilled secrets if he wasn’t careful and made a mental note to compartmentalize her even further.

“Well, it’s already been a day.” Anna replied before downing a shot. “I assume the reason we’re here is because I’m being summoned by the almighty Charlatan.”

“You’re learning.” Reyes tapped out a few things on his omni-tool before sending it to her.

Anna looked at the message and raised an eyebrow. “The Charlatan wants me to do what?”

“You saw the message, he wants you to collect payments owed him.” 

“So I’m a bill collector now?”

“You’re whatever the Charlatan wants you to be. Why do you always question him?” Reyes resisted the urge to tell her that he was the Charlatan, and to just shut up for a moment please. But he held his tongue; the fewer people who knew who he really was, the easier it was to go down the list if it ever got out.

“Because I didn’t ask for him to bail my ass out. I could’ve gotten by in the Badlands just fine.” Anna scowled, not happy about always having to work with Reyes. “And why do I always have to get the news from you? Why can’t the Charlatan have a rotation worked out, that way my day isn’t ruined when I see you. Besides, I though you were more of a middle of the road guy.” 

“I am. The Charlatan just happens to throw more my way.” Reyes lied, not wanting Ryder to know that it was because she was a wild card in his plans and it was safer to know that she got the orders directly from him. But if she was getting curious he needed to scale back his involvement with Collective operations, find someone else he trusted to watch her, if only because he didn’t need her getting too nosy. “And you without ryncol is something I wouldn’t want to see.”

Anna smiled at the statement before sweeping a hand over her face. “Just…send the nav points.” 

“Already did. Make sure to wear the armor the Charlatan gave you.” Reyes tried not to smile as Ryder glared at him and downed another shot before leaving the bar and sticking him with the tab.

The first point was a weapons merchant in the market that Anna had traded with a few times. “ _Although last time he sold me faulty cryo clips._ ” she thought while watching the stall for awhile, waiting for the opportunity to approach. Finally there was a break in the customers and she slipped on what she liked to call her ‘Alec Ryder face’ while striding towards the stall. 

“Hey.” she said in a firm tone, stopping in front of the merchant and folding her arms. “You owe the Charlatan.” 

The merchant looked up and in an unimpressed voice replied, “I owe a lot of people. Beat it.” 

Frowning, Anna grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him towards her. Hard. “Do you know who I am?”

The merchant, now looking slightly terrified, shook his head.

“The name’s Ryder.”

“Like the Pathfinder?”

“Yeah. Except you sold me faulty cryo clips and when I used them they exploded. In my gun. I had to spend what extra credits I had to fix it, and it wasn’t cheap. Now who do you want pissed off at you more? The Charlatan or a biotic who needs to blow off some steam?”

“…Neither.” 

“Well it’s got to be one or the other, so make your choice carefully.”

The merchant slowly raised his shaking hands to show he wasn’t going to go for his weapon and said, “Let…uh, let me transfer the payment right to the Charlatan’s account.” 

“Good.” Anna released the merchant and he almost fell down in his haste to move away from her. “I’ll just wait here until I get confirmation.” 

Her omni-tool pinged a few minutes later, confirming that the merchant had made the payment. “Next time pay when it’s due.”

The other three points were more of the same; intimidate the person and once they paid move on. Noting the time as she rode up to the docking bay, Anna decided to stop by Kralla’s again; the place always good to get some illegal goods if you knew who to look for and Anna was looking for a not-so-legal mod for her Avenger. Stepping out of the elevator, she noticed that a number of new ships had docked since she last went by and was slightly intrigued, so slowed her pace to listen to the gossip.

“-managed to set up a functional colony on Eos. Even started to lower the radiation on the planet.”

“-went through the Scourge like it was almost nothing and landed on Aya. Got an angaran on board as well.”

“Rumor is he’s looking for the other Ryder twin and-”

Stopping in her tracks, Anna didn’t hear the rest of the sentence over the sudden rush of panic that gripped her. If Alec was actively looking for her… 

“ _Shit._ ” Anna thought to herself over the rest of the information as she made a beeline for the doors. Bypassing Kralla’s, she headed through the market towards her apartment. Preoccupied with the thought of finally facing her father and wanting to get out of the market so she could properly freak out, she cut down an alley-not seeing the Outcast at the other end until it was too late.

An arm blocked her vision and Anna was forced to stop. Covering her surprise with a scowl, she shot the guy a look. “What?”

“Ryder.”

Anna didn’t like how he knew her name and decided to brush it off by shoving past him, “Wrong person.”

Pushing off the wall the Outcast followed her out of the alley while placing a hand on her arm, “Hey-“

Anna whipped around and in a flurry of movements grabbed his hand, twisted it behind his back, and pushed him towards the wall. Slamming him against the pre-fab metal, she paused to pool her biotics in her free hand and slam her fist near his face; noticeably denting it. “Did Sloane tell you who I am?” she asked after seeing him wince.

The Outcast nodded, “Sloane wants-”

“I don’t _care_ what Sloane wants or thinks. I’m with the Collective now. So you can tell her that whatever she wants, she can have Kaetus do. Probably with less bitching. Got it?”

The Outcast hesitated, probably debating between staying on Kelly’s good side or getting beat up by Anna, so she pulled out her knife and waved it a little in his field of vision. 

“Alright! I’ll tell her.”

“Good.” Anna removed the knife and took a step back to let the man scamper off. Taking a deep breath to cool down, Anna quickly made her way back to her apartment-now knowing that Alec looking for her had set off alarms and Sloane wanted her on the Outcast’s side to look good to him. 

“ _Not that Alec will care either way._ ” she thought while dumping her armor onto the floor and pulling out her bag in-case she needed to make an unexpected trip into the Badlands.


	3. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryder and Reyes continue to 'work' with each other while the ice between the two might finally be thawing. Then Anna’s ‘side job’ puts her in unexpected danger.

Reyes woke up to the sound of his omni-tool buzzing. Inwardly sighing, he ran a hand across his eyes before reaching for it. Squinting against the screen Reyes saw it was a message from Kian.

_Ryder wants some information, but didn’t know how to get in touch. Told her I’d pass it along._

Narrowing his eyes at the words, Reyes started to filter through possibilities. He hadn’t seen her since that day in the market so her putting two and two together that he was the Charlatan wasn’t possible. He'd also started partnering her with Mason, so there was at least one person he trusted keeping an eye on her.

That meant that she really did need information.

“ _About what though?_ ” he wondered while closing his omni-tool and feeling the bed shift even though he was sitting still. Turning his head at the movement, Reyes realized the person sharing his bed was waking as well. Looking at the dirty blond hair that stuck out above the covers, Reyes realized that this was the first time in awhile that Mason had stayed the night.

“You awake?” Reyes said as he pulled the covers back and smiled as Mason shut his eyes tighter against the light.

“Barely.” came the muttered reply as Mason buried his head into the pillow. Letting out a muffled sigh he rolled over and stretched before sitting up, “Coffee?”

“Sorry, haven’t had the chance. Got a message from Kian about Ryder that I want to deal with before anything else.”

Mason ran a hand through his hair after stifling a yawn, “I’m doing a few runs with her this week, anything that might give us trouble?”

“No.” Reyes shook his head while Mason stood up and started looking for his clothes. The man had been with him since he started the Collective-hell even before then-and other than Keema, was the only person he wanted at his side when it came time to take the port. “She wants information.”

Mason paused in putting on his shirt and looked at Reyes with a surprised expression, “Really? I thought she hated you.”

“She might be warming up to me.” Reyes’s omni-tool vibrated again, demanding attention. He let out a soft sigh, knowing that however much he might want to linger, there wasn’t the luxury. The Collective never stopped working and he needed to make sure it all ran as smoothly as possible.

“Let me know how it turns out and if I need to break anyone's arm again.” Mason said, focused on putting on the rest of his clothes. “You owe me a cup of coffee. But not that swill from Corella’s in the market.”

Reyes let out a genuine laugh at the comment and gave Mason a kiss, letting him know that the man wasn’t taken for granted. “I promise.”

Turning towards the coffee pot, he heard his door open than close-but his mind was now focused on dealing with Ryder. Quickly tapping out a message for Kian to forward, he set a pot to brew before walking towards the bathroom. A quick shower and then he’d start dealing out the days orders.

—

Anna bounded down the steps of her apartment block and into the market crowd, glaring at the dark clouds in the sky. She really hoped it wasn’t going to rain because she worked at Tartarus later and didn’t want to get stuck somewhere for hours until the acidic rain stopped.

She hadn’t expected Kian to get back to her so fast, or even meet with Reyes within the span of twenty-four hours of trying to hire him.

The other night she’d come to a decision; if Alec was looking for her, then it’d be in her best interests to find out what exactly he was up to. She needed more information before deciding her next move.

“ _If Kian’s right about Reyes having his own information network, then he might be able to help me. If I can be around him for more than five minutes without wanting to punch him._ ” she thought while stuffing her hands in her jacket.

Making her way to a hole in the wall cafe, she spotted Reyes leaning against the wall. “And I thought I was early.”

Reyes looked up to see Anna walking towards him. “Ryder.”

“Thanks for meeting with me.”

“I aim to please.” Reyes flashed a smile towards her, not backing down when she shot him a frown and folded her arms across her chest. “What do you need?”

“I need information on the Pathfinder.”

“What kind of information?”

Anna ran a hand through her hair and swept her eyes across the busy street, “Where he is, where he might be headed next. That sort of thing.”

“You want to know who’s on his ship?”

“I just need to know if he’s arriving in port any time soon.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow at the statement, filing the information away for later. The way she always tried to distance herself between any association between her and the pathfinder certainly implied a strained relationship within the pathfinder family.

Ever since word about the Hyperion arriving spread, his contacts on Havaarl and Voeld had been keeping discrete tabs on the pathfinder. Which was how he knew that Alec Ryder wasn’t pathfinder anymore. Reyes was still trying to get information about the senior Ryder-if he was simply hurt and recovering on the Nexus or if something else had happened.

“ _Either way that’s not my secret to tell._ ” he thought while making sure to keep his face neutral. Opening his omni-tool to write the information down he said, “I’ll see what I can come up with. It might take awhile though, Sloane’s been throttling communications in and around the port. Apparently she’s trying to ‘prioritize outcast messages.’”

“Or censor information, so we don’t know what’s going on.”

Reyes paused as a group of krogan wearing Outcast outfits appeared. You could never be too careful when talking about things in the port. Once they were out of earshot he said, “Or that.” 

“How much is this going to cost?” She figured it wasn’t going to be cheap, but she needed to know how much this was going to hurt what little savings she had.

Reyes was silent for a moment, thinking. He couldn’t do it for free, that’d raise too many questions he didn’t want to answer. Besides, he had a reputation to maintain. 

“It depends what I find.” Reyes said eventually. “This is my base rate.” he continued while sending a message to Anna’s omni-tool. “Send this to the account listed and if it costs more, you’ll owe me a favor.”

Anna looked at her omni-tool and while the amount he’d listed made a dent in her credits, it didn’t completely wipe her out. “I’ll send it by the end of today.”

“Pleasure doing business with you.” Reyes gave Anna a wink and left before she could say anything.

Anna watched as Reyes blended into the crowd and frowned, he was so cavalier about the whole thing. “ _But I managed not to deck him so there’s that._ ” She thought as the distant rumble of thunder sounded and the air started to take on that acidic smell that only meant rain was on its way.

—  
Anna all but ran into Tartarus, knowing that she was late. It had been another long day in the Badlands and as a result was nearly dead on her feet. She still didn’t like the organization, but they kept the Outcasts away from her door so she supposed they weren’t all bad.

Stepping out onto the floor once she was ready, Anna noticed Kian motioning for her. “Ryder.” he said once she was near enough.

“I know, I’m late. Sorry.”

Kian nodded his head towards the stairs while pouring a drink, “Guy in the VIP room wants you to deliver a bottle of whiskey.”

Anna raised an eyebrow at the statement. Plenty of other dancers got requested but hardly her, downside of her last name. “You sure?”

“Specifically asked for you.”

“If you say so.” Grabbing the bottle and a glass, she made her way up the steps. As the door slid open, she let her eyes adjust to the dim light and saw who was on the other side. “Seriously?”

“Ryder.” Reyes nodded as Anna stepped through the door and warily made her way towards him as he finished the rest of the moonshine in front of him. “Have a seat.”

“Why?” Anna asked as she set the bottle and glass on the table, not understanding why he’d requested her. It had been a few weeks since she’d last seen him, after hiring him to find out where Alec was there’d been radio silence. Even the Collective jobs she’d gotten had been with Mason and not Reyes. 

She wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but Anna kind of missed working with the smuggler.

“The Charlatan said you could have the night off.”

“Oh? When did they become my boss at Tartarus?”

“Since you were hired, they own the club.”

Anna had always wondered why it seemed like Tartarus was more Collective friendly than Kralla’s but hadn’t cared enough to ask. Now she knew why. Besides, the whiskey looked like it wasn’t going to strip paint off the side of a building and who was she to pass up an invitation like that? “Alright, but one drink. Then I’m out the back.”

“One drink.”

One drink turned into the whole bottle, and by that time Anna felt more at ease. Even Reyes wasn’t as annoying as he normally was. Which is why she asked, “Find out anything on the pathfinder yet? It’s been weeks since I hired you and I don’t think you’re the type to scam me for the credits.”

Reyes raised an eyebrow at the statement and knew he did owe Anna what he’d managed to find out. So he gave her a brief overview, “The pathfinder’s been mainly on Eos with a few trips to Voeld and Harvaal. Apparently the Nexus wants to establish an alliance with the angara. But as far as I can tell he’s not planning to visit here any time soon.”

Anna was quiet for a moment, letting the news sink in. “I suppose that’s a good thing though, that he’s staying away from here. I can only imagine what Sloane would do if he showed up.”

Draining the glass she set it down and glanced over at Reyes with a mischievous smile, “You know what? We’ve been working together for awhile now and I hardly know anything about you. I’m sure with the right amount of pressure you’re an open book.”

Reyes wouldn’t deny that Anna was attractive, but he'd told himself that he wasn’t going to mix business with pleasure again. No matter how much he wanted to at the moment.

“ _Besides, we’ve both had too much to drink._ ” he thought while looking at her eyes, noticing the caramel color they were for what felt like the first time.

However at the same time he couldn’t resist saying, “You’re mistaken if you think I’ll tell my secrets with only the right amount of pressure.”

“And you couldn’t handle me.”

Reyes knew that she was baiting him, but he was enjoying the chase. Placing a hand on either arm of her chair he closed the distance between them while saying, “I could handle you no problem.”

Anna felt a shiver move its way down her spine as she placed a hand on the arm of his jacket and felt the cool synthleather against her flushed skin. “Is…that so?”

Reyes raised his eyebrow as a reply and Anna let out a shaky breath, wanting to kiss him but before she could move the door slid open and they both heard an angaran voice say, “Reyes? They told me you were- _oh._ ”

Reyes didn’t know if Keema had excellent timing or the worst. Straightening up, he caught the look that she was sending his way and chose to ignore it, “Anna Ryder this is my associate, Keema Dohrgun.”

“Ryder?” Keema tilted her head at the name. “Any relation to the Pathfinder?”

“Only in name. Anything else is a lie.” Anna replied, silently glad for the interruption because her mind was still reeling from what might of happened if Keema hadn’t walked in. Taking a breath she stood while saying, “Looks like you have business to take care of.”

“It can wait, let me walk you home.” Reyes said a tad too quickly and continued to ignore the look that Keema was sending his way.

“I’m good. Apparently you’re still working even though the Charlatan gave me the night off.” Anna threw Reyes a quick wink before sauntering into the club and heading towards the back to gather her stuff.

“The Charlatan gave her the night off.” Keema repeated slowly while folding her arms and tilting her head slightly.

Reyes knew if she could raise an eyebrow, that’s what Keema would be doing right now. “She’s been running supplies all day. Thought she could use a break.”

“Remember the last time you got involved with your partner, Reyes? I had to bail you out _and_ we lost the cargo. All of it.”

“Which is why I said I wasn’t going to do that again. And I haven’t.” Reyes snapped before pouring what little whiskey remained into his glass. “Did you have information for me or just come here to comment on my choice of companions?”

“Hmm…I do have something for you, but you might not like it.” Keema said as she moved further into the room and sat down in Reyes’s spot. “The Moshae’s been found.”

“Why wouldn’t I like that?”

“Apparently the Pathfinder was on the mission to get her. The Moshae told him that an angaran named Vhen Terev betrayed her to the Kett. He escaped Resistance efforts to capture him on Aya and intel puts him here on Kadara.”

“Efvra should be contacting me soon then. We can get Collective agents to pick him up discreetly. Use this to show how Sloane doesn’t care about the safety of the port; to let a known Kett collaborator in. That would piss people off quite nicely.”

“I wasn’t finished. Sloane got wind of it too and had Kaetus pick him up. He’s currently being held by Outcast forces.”

Reyes wanted to break something, but settled for gripping the glass as tight as it would allow until his hand ached. “Where?”

“I’m still working on the location, but as soon as I get it I’ll let you know. I’m assuming Efvra will want you to hand him over.”

“Of course.”

“But knowing you, that’s going to happen differently than how he wants.”

Reyes smirked, “We’ll see.” His omni-tool vibrated and guessed it was Efvra contacting him to tell him about the situation. “Speak of the devil.”

But it wasn’t the leader of the Angaran Resistance.

“Damn it.” Reyes breathed, his stomach twisting as he read the brief message. “I have to cut this short.”

“Why? What happened?”

Reyes was already walking towards the door as Keema spoke, answering over his shoulder. “Ryder was attacked.”

—

Anna didn’t remember getting into a bar fight, but that’s what she felt like. Her head was pounding, her chest ached, and her left arm was in agony.

“ _Well it doesn’t smell like toxic sludge mixed with sulfur so I’m not at the clinic._ ” Anna thought to herself as she struggled to open her eyes. “Why the hell am I so cold?”

“Because you’re underground.”

It took a minute for Anna to place the voice, then realized that it belonged to Reyes. More confused than before, Anna blinked rapidly to focus her eyes and saw a prefab ceiling that wasn’t hers. Squinting against the light, she slowly turned her head and saw Reyes leaning against the wall.

“Ugh…what happened?” she whispered, breathing heavily while trying to sit up and wincing at the pain flashing through her chest.

“Hey. Stay down.” Reyes said in a gentle voice, moving towards the cot to keep Anna from pulling her stitches. Gently helping her back down he asked, “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Anna was silent for a moment, trying to sort through the haze of memories. Then it all came back to her.

_“Thought you weren’t picking sides, Ryder.”_

_A punch struck her face and Anna felt blood fill her mouth. But that didn’t stop her from retorting, “At least I know how to follow through.”_

_“There’s no one to protect you now.” The Outcast snarled while throwing another punch and the others joined in. Anna was still tipsy enough that her reaction was slow and as they shoved her against the wall her vision filled with stars._

“Some Outcast…assholes waited until I was in the market and attacked me. Cowards.” Licking her dry lips, she winced slightly at the cut that was still fresh. “How-ahhh, _fuck_ this hurts….”

“How bad is it?” Reyes supplied, waiting for Anna to nod before continuing. “Bad enough; bruised rib, black eye, broken wrist, along with assorted cuts and bruises. You’ve been pretty out of it.”

“And I thought the uprising was bad.” Anna smiled, but let it drop when she saw Reyes hadn’t found the comment funny. “Where am I?”

“Don’t worry, you’re safe. Right now you need to rest.” Reyes said standing from the kneeling position he’d gotten into when Anna first woke up and moved to leave. “Someone’ll check on you later.”

Stepping into the cave proper, he told Crux to make sure that Ryder wasn’t in too much pain and to check on her every so often. He then headed towards the exit, he’d already spent too much time in the Draulir base and needed to start coordinating with Keema about Terev’s location.

“ _It was damn luck Mason and the others saw what was going on and stepped in._ ” Reyes thought to himself as he walked out into the Kadaran evening and towards his shuttle. “ _It could have been much worse._ ”


	4. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryder is back in the port and Reyes tries to make friends with the Pathfinder.

_The flashing red light was the only illumination in the otherwise dark space and she could dimly hear the alarm that kept sounding._

_“What’s going on?” Anna thought while pounding her fist against the plexiglass window. Someone had to hear the commotion, someone needed to. Closing her eyes she tried to regulate her breathing, there was a limited amount of oxygen in the pod and she had to make sure she conserved it._

_After what felt like a lifetime, there was a hissing sound and the front of the unit opened. All but falling out of the pod, Anna hit the floor while inhaling the fresh air. “Where am I?” she asked once she’d calmed down enough._

_“Andromeda."_

Anna woke with a start, feeling the sticky sweat on her chest and tingle of biotics as it took a moment to remember where she was.

It had been awhile since she’d had that particular dream.

Sitting up with a hand pressed gently against her chest, Anna took as deep a breath as she could so the biotic flare would dissipate. Hearing someone rustling around on the lower level, she assumed it was Reyes since none of the sensors had gone off.

It had been four weeks since she’d arrived at a Collective safe house in the Badlands, waiting until she could show her face in port again. Reyes had brought her there and showed up every so often to see how she was doing and bring supplies.

She also knew that he wasn’t doing it out of the kindness of his heart and that he’d expect some kind of payment. Anna just hoped that he could wait until she was fully healed. Taking her time in the shower, she glanced in the mirror and was slightly glad that most of the scrapes and bruises had healed; the cast on her arm and fresh looking scars on her neck the only things standing out. After slipping on fresh clothes, she slowly made her way down to the main level.

Reyes looked up when he heard movement and saw Anna making her way down the stairs. “Morning.” he said while setting down the last of the supplies he’d brought, casting a glance over his shoulder to see if the breakfast he was cooking was ready. Things at the port were starting to calm down so Reyes was planning on bringing Anna back in a few weeks, maybe sooner if she was feeling better. “How are you feeling?”

“I should be taking down raiders in no time.” Anna said with a faint smile as she sat down and Reyes set one of the plates in front of her. Looking at it, she couldn’t help but feel like she didn’t deserve any of this; actual food instead of protein bars, the other supplies, her own hideout. She knew that it was because of her last name. If she was just another member of the Collective the most she could’ve hoped for was a visit from Nakamoto.

Reyes raised an eyebrow at the comment and looked at Anna, seeing that the smile wasn’t reaching her eyes. If he was honest, all of this was because he felt slightly guilty for what had happened.

He’d known that Sloane was aware of Anna’s allegiance, but had been confident that she would leave well enough alone. Up until then they’d kept it impersonal; stealing shipments, harassing the odd shopkeeper, causing trouble in the others territory. But apparently Sloane had wanted to make her displeasure known. This was the first time Kelly had actually sent her men with orders to jump someone and he wondered if the Collective had finally gotten to the point where Sloane was considering them a real threat. After making sure Anna wasn’t in any danger as Nakamoto treated her, Reyes had wanted to storm Sloane’s headquarters and settle the whole issue right then and there.

Before he could make a move though, Mason talked sense into him. Give away his hand before they had a chance to really chip at Sloane’s hold and they lose before they really got started. So Reyes waited until Anna was well enough to travel to where she could recover and he wouldn’t have to worry about the Outcasts trying again.

Payback would have to wait until later.

Setting down his own plate he replied casually, “The Charlatan wanted to make sure you were taken care of while healing.”

Anna knew there was more to the answer but didn’t press it, they were going to have to talk about it sooner or later. She tried to eat what was in front of her, but could only manage a few bites before just pushing the food around.

Reyes noticed her hesitation and wondered if she was hurting more than she let on. “You alright?” he asked cautiously, knowing that she liked to keep what she was feeling close and he might have to practically pry it out of her.

Anna set down her fork and avoided looking at Reyes. “I’m just not fully back to a hundred.”

“You need some meds? I’m sure Nakamoto can-”

“No. Not like that.” Anna interrupted while still avoiding Reyes’s gaze. “I mean. I can’t pay you back yet.”

Realization dawned on Reyes and his heart was in his throat. He didn’t want it to be like this, for her to think that she owed him. And to suggest repaying him with something that yes, he’d fantasized about since that night at Tartarus…Reyes wasn’t that kind of person. To take advantage of the situation would be something that someone with lesser morals would do. Even if Reyes liked to play fast and loose with his own at the same time this was one of the things he wouldn’t bend on.

“You don’t owe me.” he said after clearing his throat and shifting slightly in his chair.

“I know how this works, Vidal. All of this,” Anna gestured to their surroundings while talking. “doesn’t come without a price. So unless the Charlatan is taking money out of what I earn at Tartarus I need to heal before-”

“No.” The word came out harsher than Reyes intended, but he needed Anna to know that he wasn’t looking for any kind of payment or favors. “The Charlatan wanted you to have a safe place to recover and for someone to look in on you.”

“Because my last name is Ryder.”

“Because-” Before he could go any further though, the proximity sensor went off and both of them looked to the door, taking a second to realize what was going on. Anna got to her feet and started towards her Avenger while Reyes grabbed his pistol and pulled up the feed of the outside on his omni-tool; seeing that Mason was exiting the shuttle.

“Stay here.” Reyes threw out over his shoulder, exiting the house while wondering what was so important to warrant someone else coming out here.

Nosey herself, Anna pulled up her own feed and straddled the arm of the couch as she watched Reyes talk with Mason about something, gesturing towards the house. Mason shook his head while opening his omni-tool, typing something out before sending it to Reyes. Reyes looked at it for a minute before snapping his omni-tool shut. Reyes then waved Mason off with a hand, before walking back towards the house while Mason headed towards the shuttle.

Closing the feed, Anna looked up as Reyes entered. “What’s going on?”

“Change of plans, we’re heading back to the port today.” Reyes said while running a hand through his hair. Efvra had messaged him that the Pathfinder was on his way to Kadara but Reyes had turned off his omni-tool when he came out here. So he didn’t get the message and Keema sent Mason to tell him that he was needed.

And since the Pathfinder was a Ryder, Reyes knew that it might help to have Anna there. “ _Not at the initial meeting but maybe the knowledge that she’s here might smooth things along the way._ ” he thought to himself as he did a quick check of the supplies he’d brought, seeing what could stay and what needed to be taken back.

“We?” Anna echoed, confused. “I thought it wasn’t safe for me to go back yet.”

“It mostly is. Get your stuff together, we’re leaving as soon as I finish repacking the shuttle.”

“Why?”

“Because I work with the angaran resistance. They need me to help to get a traitor out of Kelly’s grasp so he can pay for what he did to the Moshae.” He left out the part where the Pathfinder was coming because he remembered how she’d reacted to just the mention of the title and didn’t want to scare her against going back to the port.

“Kian mentioned you helped the angaran’s. Mind if I ask why?”

“Let’s say I have an admiration for the underdogs. That’s why Mason showed up, I had my omni-tool off. And there are other matters back at the port that I thought could wait but apparently can’t.” 

“Fine, just let me pack.”

Soon they were back at the port and Anna was startled to see how the Outcast presence had increased in the market. They had always been there, recruiting for Sloane or ‘protecting’ people, but in the time she’d been gone it seemed there were more than usual. Even walking through the landing area, she saw that there was a line of humans and non-humans alike who were being shoved towards the elevator that led to the slums.

“What’s got Sloane pissed off?” Anna asked once they were clear of the landing bay doors.

“The Outcasts managed to ‘lose’ some supply shipments, the loss hurting Sloane in terms of credits. So she increased the protection payments and as you can see, not everyone’s able to pay them.”

Anna was silent as Reyes spoke. Kelly had saved Anna’s life during the uprising; when her last name painted a target on her back even though she wasn’t with Tann and Addison. But once they arrived on Kadara and found the Kett here…something changed with Sloane after they got rid of the invaders. Like the feeling of being in power was something that she didn’t want to lose again.

Stopping at the edge of the market, Reyes turned to look at Anna and for a second felt slightly bad for keeping secrets from her. “ _But I need her on my side._ ” Reyes thought while gently clearing his throat, drawing her from whatever thoughts occupying her mind.

Anna looked at Reyes and smiled at the look that he was giving her. “I can make it the rest of the way without getting into too much trouble.” she said with a wink and stepped further into the market, blending in without too much trouble.

Reyes watched her leave and his omni-tool chirped, drawing him back to the matter at hand. Looking at it, saw a message from Umi letting him know that Scott Ryder was waiting.

“ _Time to go to work._ ” he told himself, walking through the door and turning towards Kralla’s.

—

Scott tried not to breathe in the sulfur but it was nearly impossible. Stepping off the Tempest the smell had hit them like a wall and he didn’t know how everyone who lived here got used to it. Vetra and Drack had gone to whatever black market deal the two of them had and knew that his blue and white Initiative jacket didn’t endear him to the local population. But he didn’t care because right now his Resistance contact needed to spot him and that was the best way. Walking through the market, Scott kept an eye on the crowd; half to make sure they didn’t try to pickpocket him and half hoping that he’d run into Anna.

“You sure Anna’s still on Kadara, SAM?” Scott asked, his eyes glossing over the crowd and hoping to spot the reddish-brown hair that she was proud of.

He’d been concerned after waking up on the Hyperion and finding that Anna wasn’t there. And instead of an explanation all Scott got was 'after we get back from Habitat Seven.' But dad never did and Scott was left wondering where his twin was. Then they got to the Nexus and discovered that she’d accidentally been placed there instead of the Hyperion.

_Records indicate that she left with Nexus personnel when they were expelled._

“But nothing after that.”

_I am afraid not._

“Is it too much to hope that she’s at Kralla’s?” Scott asked as he made his way towards the bar, knowing his sister’s habits and if there was one thing that would still be the same after six hundred years, it would be that his sister liked to hang out at the nearest bar.

_That information is unavailable._

Scott smirked and walked into the bar…where the bartender threatened a krogan by slamming a knife into the bartop when they tried to skip out on the bill.

“ _You sure picked a winner of a planet to live on sis._ ” Scott thought before wondering if it was too late to meet his resistance contact somewhere else.

Preferably where he’d be confident that he wasn’t going to pick up Hepatitis C.

“You look like you’re waiting for someone.”

Scott turned around to see a man in a weathered flight suit walking towards him with a confident smile on his face, signalling the bartender for two drinks. “Sorry, not interested.”

If Reyes hadn’t been working he would’ve been amused, but this wasn’t the Ryder he was slightly interested in. Thanking Umi with a smile he continued, “We have a mutual friend. Efvra said that you’d be arriving today.”

“ _You’re_ Shena?” Scott knew the surprise in his voice matched his expression, and it was true-he’d expected someone...not human.

“I prefer Reyes, Pathfinder.”

“Scott.” he looked at the drink that was next to him and considered turning it down, but at the same time he guessed from the way the air smelled the water wouldn’t be much better. 

So Scott picked up the glass and was surprised when SAM didn’t tell him he’d been drugged. Talking with Reyes was…interesting. He seemed to know a lot for someone who was just a smuggler, and he skirted some of Scott’s more pointed questions.

But then Reyes let it slip that he did more than work for the Resistance and smuggle, working as an information broker for whomever could afford it. At that he wondered if Reyes knew where his sister was. Once he was filled in on the Terev situation, Scott decided to chance it.

“You know Anna Ryder?”

Reyes looked at Scott, not sure how to answer the question. Since knowing her, Anna had always made some kind of joke when questioned about her Pathfinder connections. But the concern on Scott’s face seemed genuine so he nodded, “We’ve crossed paths a few times.”

“She still on Kadara?”

“Yeah.”

“You know where can I find her?”

“Should be at her place just off the market. Need directions?”

“Sure. Although I could probably follow the trail of bottles if she’s been on a bender.” Scott muttered while finishing the rest of his drink.

Reyes chose to ignore the statement, even though it made him grip his glass a bit tighter, before setting it down and sending the location of her apartment to Scott. “If she’s not there you could check Tartarus down in the slums. I’ll be in contact.”

Reyes then drained his glass and left the bar, hoping he’d done the right thing. And sticking Scott with the tab for the snide comment about Anna.

“But if things go south how can I contact you?” Scott called after Reyes as he started to walk away. Annoyance surged as the man just winked and no real answer was given. Then he found out he got stuck with the tab.

Inwardly grumbling as he paid the asari, Scott left Kralla’s and decided to visit Anna after seeing Sloane. The alliance with the angaran’s took precedence and that meant getting to Vehn before Sloane could do anything.


	5. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anna starts to warm up to Reyes even more. Scott finally stops by, dredging up the past and Anna reveals why she's in Helius.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the length of the chapter but it all fits together theme/emotionally wise so I wanted to keep it together instead of breaking it up into two chapters. Also just a heads up, it gets nsfw towards the middle. Enjoy!

Someone was pounding at her door and Anna wanted them to go away. Nakamoto had stopped by to check on her an hour after getting back to her place; giving her some more painkillers for when it got too bad. Her arm aching since the flight back, she downed some after he left and slipped into a blank sleep.

Until whomever was at her door started pounding.

“Alright…alright I’m coming.” Anna muttered while dragging herself towards the door, still feeling the drowsy effects of the meds. “Ugh, what the fuck?” she groaned as the door slid open.

Then she saw who was on the other side and straightened, instantly awake. “Scott.”

Scott hadn’t known what to expect when Anna opened the door. But seeing the fresh looking scars on her face and cast on her left arm was far down on the list. “What the hell happened?” he blurted out, eyes widening slightly.

“Some assholes thought they could take down a Ryder.” Anna said while smirking slightly and trying not to wince at the pain the movement caused. “Showed them they couldn’t.”

“Of course.” Scott didn’t buy the excuse, but knew that was as close to the truth as he was going to get. They stood facing each other silently for a few minutes before he raised an eyebrow. “You going to let me in?”

“…if you want.” Anna stepped back while turning around, picking up an almost empty bottle of moonshine and taking a drink.

Scott stepped into her apartment and noticed the bottle of painkillers on the counter. “You sure you should be drinking while on those meds?”

“Did you come here just to lecture me or for some other reason? No wait, I’ve got it.” Anna spun around so that she was facing Scott. “ _Alec_ sent you to drag me to Habitat Seven. Hate to break it to you, but there’s no fucking way-”

“Dad’s dead.” Scott interrupted, not thinking of any other way to break the news. “And Seven’s a bust. The Scourge made it uninhabitable.”

Anna paused when Scott dropped the news about Alec, not sure what to think. Sitting in the one chair she owned, Anna didn’t know what to think. “How?” she asked softly after what seemed like forever.

Scott exhaled heavily and ran a hand through his hair. “We got hit by the Scourge after jumping into the cluster and dad said we needed to follow protocol, so we headed to Seven. I tried to get him to tell me where you were, but he said we’d talk after the surface. The Kett were there, trying to get in the monolith but we managed to beat them to it. It happened so fast. There was some kind of feedback loop that knocked us off the platform. My helmet shattered and dad gave me his to survive…” Scott trailed off, lost in the memories of that day.

He hadn’t really talked about what happened on the planet since SAM Node, too much had been placed on him to really process it, and Scott needed to sit down. Taking off his jacket, Scott sat heavily on the bed and put his head in his hands.

“Before he-” Scott cut off, swallowing thickly and blinking back the tears, it took a few minutes before he could continue. “Died, dad transferred SAM and made me Pathfinder.”

Anna didn’t know what to say. She had spent so much time hating Alec and what he did, all the lies and manipulation to get her here, and to find out that he was dead now…she expected to feel glad but just felt _nothing_.

“ _First mom and now dad._ ” she thought while wordlessly handing the moonshine to Scott. He took the bottle and emptied it.

“So now what?” Anna asked, breaking the silence.

Scott licked his lips and looked over at his sister, realizing that she had the same expression that she wore when mom died. Before she went off the rails. “Maybe she doesn’t hate him that much after all.”

Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and said, “Well, I’m working with Tann and trying to find this Meridian. You can come on the Tempest and-”

“No.” Anna looked up sharply as she snapped out the daze she’d been in since Scott dropped the bombshell and stood. Taking a few steps away from him, she ran a hand through her hair while letting out a slow breath.

“What?”

“I’m not working with _Tann_.” Anna spit the name like it was a curse and made a face. “I’m not getting on his ship and taking orders from him.”

“Why?” Scott wasn’t the biggest fan of the Salarian, but he knew that Tann was working with what he had and making hard decisions so the Initiative could survive.

“Really Scott? You’re going to come to Kadara and ask why I refuse to work with the Nexus?”

“Anna-” Scott started to say, standing and moving towards her.

“No!” Anna shouted, taking a step back from her brother. “You don’t know what it was like after the Scourge hit us and when the colonies on Eos failed.” She pressed a hand to her forehead and felt her chest start to tighten. Clenching her teeth as a flash of pain spasmed across her face, Anna didn’t know if it was because of her wounds or the fact that Scott seemed intent on making her dredge up things she’d rather forget.

“It was-we had to-so much chaos.” Anna stammered, suddenly not able to think in a linear fashion. Clenching her fist she took a shuddering breath and wanted all of this to just go away.

“Hey.” Scott took a hesitant step forwards, worried about his sister and seeing how she was starting to freak out, wisps of biotic energy starting to curl around her. Gently putting a hand on her shoulder he said, “It’s okay.”

_Anna clawed at the hands gripping her shirt as they dragged her towards the airlock but couldn’t get a good angle no matter how much she twisted. “Please.” she begged, her heart pounding in her chest. “I’m not on their side.”_

_“But you’re a Ryder and we have to show leadership that we mean business. It’s okay, it won’t take long.”_

“No!” Anna shouted, while grabbing Scott’s hand and using her biotics to fling him across the room.

Scott barely had time to register what was going on before he slammed against the wall.

Hard.

Shaking the stars from his eyes, Scott realized that Anna had him pinned against the wall and was dimly impressed with how strong her biotics had gotten since the last time he remembered seeing them in action. “ _Focus._ ” He told himself, pushing the thought out of his mind.

“Anna.” he said, trying to break free of the stasis field but unable to do anything other than wiggle his fingers. Seeing that he wasn’t getting through to her, he tried again. “Hey, Blue. Look at me. Look at me.”

Anna blinked at hearing Scott’s nickname for her and snapped back to the present; seeing Scott against the wall, trying to get free but her biotics holding him there. “Oh my God.” she breathed, dropping the field and taking a step back. “Scott I-”

“It’s fine.” Scott said in a neutral voice once he was free. Hearing about the uprising on the Nexus, he knew that things hadn’t been pretty. But seeing Anna react like that made him realize that he honestly didn’t know what had happened during those months. It also made him feel slightly guilty for the remark earlier at Kralla’s; it was clear the Nexus hadn’t been kind to her, even if she didn’t participate directly in the rebellion.

“No it’s not, I’m…” Anna trailed off while trying to discreetly wipe away the tears. “You should leave.”

“Come back to the Tempest with me.”

“We just went over this.”

“So Doctor T’Perro, our Medical Officer, can take a look at you. Make sure nothing’s infected. Please.”

Anna looked at her brother and saw that he was genuine in his offer. “Tonight. I need to take care of stuff before.”

Scott wanted to know what but at the same time knew she wasn’t going to tell him. And as Pathfinder he probably didn’t want to know. “Tonight works. The Tempest is at the end of the dock, you can’t miss it.”

Anna let a half-smile appear, “Okay.” Scott was at the door when she said, “It was good to finally see you.”

Scott paused and turned to nod, “It was.”

As he made his way down to the market, Scott messaged Lexi and then Vetra; if anyone knew what was going on black market wise it would be Vetra (or even Reyes if he was desperate) and he needed to know what his sister had been up to while on the planet.

—

Anna walked into Tartarus, picking up a bottle of whiskey from Kian before heading up to the private room. She’d heard that Reyes had made it his base of operations in the club and Kian confirmed that he was up there. The conversation with Scott was still bouncing around her head and she needed a distraction.

Walking into the room she placed the whiskey on the table in front of him, “Need a break?”

Reyes looked up from the datapad when the door opened, surprised when Kian messaged that Anna was on her way up. He was also slightly concerned, she should’ve been talking with Scott or at the very least resting.

“Maybe.” he said, tilting his head up so he could get a better look at her. Her eyes were hard to read, a storm of confusion and anger; but her smile said she wanted to have some fun. “Have a chance to talk to your brother yet?”

“Yeah, it was a boring conversation.” Anna said, taking off the top of the whiskey and pouring a drink. Sitting across from Reyes she continued, “I’d rather not talk if that’s okay with you. Besides, I still owe you that favor.”

Reyes took the bottle from her and poured his own glass. “Like I said before, you don’t owe me.”

Leaning back, Anna tilted her head sideways while skimming her fingers across the edge of the table. “Then think of it as me _thanking_ you for your due diligence in getting me information about the Pathfinder. Who’s apparently my brother so thanks for telling me. And I didn’t say anything about sex, there are plenty of other things I can do.”

“You just asked for a timeline and whereabouts. I didn’t feel it was my place to tell.” Reyes said slowly, knowing they were still at the point where either one could walk away and pretend like nothing happened. Or they could just get drunk together and call it even. “But do you really want to do this?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“I don’t want you to be doing this for the wrong reasons.” Reyes replied as Anna leaned towards him. He had a clear view of her cleavage, wonderfully framed by the tank top she was currently wearing, but focused on the glass of whiskey that was still undrunk. Taking it in his hands, he knocked it back and poured himself another one. 

“Everything I do is for the wrong reason, Vidal. You should know that about me by now.” Anna replied softly against his lips. “But to answer your question, yes I’m sure.”

“I thought you hated me.”

Anna avoided his gaze at the comment, feeling her face slightly heat up. “I…don’t completely hate you.”

“And why is that?” Reyes asked while brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes, playing the interested party. 

He found Ryder attractive, there was no doubt about that, but at the same time he needed to remember why he’d recruited her into the Collective in the first place. If Anna was starting to warm up to him then he could use that to hopefully bring the Pathfinder onto his side, all but insuring that the Collective could take over Kadara. So if he was going to get information out of her, he could get more by flashing a smile and letting her think she was control. 

“Because when I first met you, even though you seemed to know what was best for me-I’ll admit I was wrong. And you were there when I woke up in Dralliur. Most would’ve just given me the bare minimum. But for some reason you seemed to care.” Anna shifted, not used to letting people see how vulnerable she felt at times.

“Whatever you think of me, I’m not a good man.”

Anna raised an eyebrow at the statement, “This is Kadara, I don’t think there _are_ any good men here. Just ones who know what they want and go for it.”

“That’s true.” Reyes said as he pulled Anna closer, giving her a forceful kiss as she fully straddled him and pressed her hips down into him. Reyes let a slight moan escape into Anna’s mouth as she trailed a hand down his stomach and started to run it back and forth against his crotch.

“Stop.” Reyes growled as he grabbed Anna’s hand and held it up. Looking into her eyes he spotted the mischievous glint that had replaced the anger and knew she was doing it on purpose. Heart pounding he asked, “What about you?”

“Me?” Anna replied, raising an eyebrow as she pulled her arm out of the loose grip Reyes had it in and started to unbuckle his belt. “Don’t worry, I can take care of myself.”

Reyes felt his heart rate increase at the mental image the sentence brought as Anna finished with his belt and tossed it to the floor, then pulling his pants and briefs down, stopping when they were around his ankles. Drawing her back towards him, Reyes paused at the hem of her shirt-asking silent permission.

Anna nodded and Reyes pulled it over her head, noting how her breasts bounced in her bra when freed from the shirt. Pulling off his own and throwing both next to the belt, he looked at Anna and was drawn to the intricate red, blue, and yellow mandala tattoo covering her shoulder. Lightly tracing the design with a finger, he noticed her turning away while catching a faint blush.

“ _She’s embarrassed, why?_ ” Reyes wondered as Anna went in for another kiss, this one just as heavy as the first. Opening his mouth, he felt Anna’s tongue on his and all other thoughts fled his mind.

Anna broke the kiss to lick her hand, resuming it when as she reached down between them. Beginning to stroke him at a slow pace all the way up and down to the hilt, she circled her thumb over the head of his cock as Reyes hissed softly while digging his nails into the soft skin of her hips.   
Her unhurried strokes up and down were somehow worse than the confinement from before, and yet amazing at the same time; biting back a groan when she tightened her grip on the upstroke.

Closing his eyes Reyes pulled away to lean his head against the wall as she continued her ministrations, enjoying the sensation of someone else’s hands on him. The last time someone had done this, Reyes had just used Zia for a better smuggling route.

But with Anna he couldn’t detect any hidden means, maybe misguided, but it wasn’t enough to cause him any real concern.

Anna dragged her teeth across his neck, pulling Reyes out of his thoughts and felt the touch rush through him like a shock of electricity as he pressed his head against the wall.

“You okay?” Anna asked, pausing as she looked at Reyes and saw the thin line of sweat on the side of his face. She shifted slightly, having to compensate for the fact that she couldn’t get a good enough grip with the cast still on her arm and be a bit more aware of her balance. And the fact that Reyes had also taken off his shirt, letting her see how toned he was, made it hard to concentrate at times.

“I-I’m fine.” Reyes managed to say over the thudding of his heart. He saw that Anna was struggling to balance herself and moved his hands so they were flat against her back instead of on her hips. “How’s that?”

“Better, thanks.” Anna straightened at the feeling of his solid hands against her back, glad for the extra support. She then resumed her strokes, this time adding a slight twist to every down stroke and circled the head of his cock with every upstroke.

The additional sensation had Reyes panting, unable to speak or think as his cock pulsed within her grip. Reyes closed his eyes and was ready to welcome the release almost upon him. All at once, everything building inside him burst and sprang apart like a spring wound too tight. Come spurted from his cock, splattering across Anna’s stomach and hands, as well as his thighs and stomach. His heart raced, trying to catch up with itself as Reyes inhaled quickly.

“There are some cloths in the corner over there.” he said in a husky voice, nodding to the far corner where he had put some clean rags the other day. He’d intended to use them for cleaning his weapons, but was willing to improvise their use. Especially since he wanted to keep what had just happened between the two of them and it wouldn’t do if either were seen with mysterious stains on their clothing.

Climbing off of Reyes, Anna languidly stretched her limbs before reaching for the bottle with her injured arm and awkwardly pushed it towards him. Her face heating up, Reyes couldn’t tell if it was from what had just happened or because of her injury. “Thanks.” he said, reaching for the bottle and unscrewing the top before taking a drink. Anna let a small smile flash across her face before making her way to the corner and grabbing a rag, cleaning her hand and then her stomach. 

“Here.” she said while making her way back towards Reyes, trading the unused rag for the whiskey. Taking a long drink, Anna let out a sigh as the alcohol burned down her throat. “I’d like to stay but I have a meeting in an hour and need to clean up.”

“Meeting anyone important?” Reyes said, digging for information while wrapping a finger around a belt loop in her shorts and tugging her in for another kiss. He could feel the heat rush through him again but she pulled away before it could go any farther.

“Not to you.” Anna said after pulling on her shirt and exaggerating the sway of her hips as she walked out of the room. “Later Reyes.”

“ _Tease._ ” Reyes thought as he watched Anna leave and as the door slid shut pulled up his briefs and pants, buckling his belt while realizing his relationship with Anna had shifted. “ _Hopefully this won’t bite me in the ass like last time._ ”

Mason watched Anna walk out of the room and waited until she was out of the club to enter. “She wasn’t here very long.” He stated, raising an eyebrow at the glass of whiskey that was still on the table.

“I don’t remember you as the jealous type.” Reyes replied, folding his arms over his chest and watching silently as Mason picked up the whiskey to give it a glance before setting it down. 

“I’m not, you know it’s casual between us. She’s a friend and I’m just concerned that you’re setting up for a repeat of Zia.”

“It’s just her connections I’m after.” 

“That’s what I’m worried about. How do you think she’s going to react when she learns that’s why she’s in the Collective?”

“Hopefully she’ll never know.”

—

Anna double checked to make sure no one was around and strode towards the ship that was at the end of the row. Knowing she was going to catch hell if anyone knew she was going onto a Nexus ship, Anna had made sure not to wear anything that was easily identifiable as hers.

Scott was waiting at the end of the loading ramp and when he saw her, brightened up slightly. “You came.”

“Yeah.” Anna returned the smile as they walked into the cargo bay and stopped short when she saw the inside. She’d heard about the Tempest when she was on the Nexus, about how it was going to be for the Pathfinders, but never saw it. Everything still looked new and Anna couldn’t help but notice the rover that was sitting in the middle, the chrome paint job shining except for a few scorch marks.

Scott saw Anna looking at the Nomad and smiled to himself; she’d always gone after anything fast and knew that she’d love it. “Maybe I’ll take you out in the Nomad, if you can spare the time.”

Anna let out a laugh, “With you driving? I highly doubt it. I’d like to remain in one piece please.”

“And you’d be right, he always scratches the paint job after I fix it. Which is why I don’t fix it anymore.” Gil said as he rolled out from underneath the Nomad. “Gil Brodie.”

Anna took a step back at the voice and smiled as Scott protested, “I’m not that bad of a driver.”

“Yes you are! You kept spinning out on Voeld.”

Anna looked up at the shout and saw it had come from an asari who was on the second level. “Who’s your cute friend?”

“You think I’m cute?”

“That’s because we were on ice, Peebs.” Scott called up, ignoring the question because if they lingered any longer the rest of the crew would show up and then there’d be no stopping them. “T’Perro’s waiting for us.”

They walked into the hallway in silence, where thankfully Lexi was waiting for them, “You must be Anna. I’m sorry about your father.”

“Thanks.” Anna said, nodding her head slightly.

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me take a look at that arm. Who put the cast on?”

“Nakamoto. He runs the clinic in the slums.”

“The name’s not familiar, but it looks like he knows what he’s doing.”

Silently mouthing a ‘thank you’ to Lexi, Scott watched the door slide shut and was glad that Anna had come onto the Tempest. Hopefully it was a small step towards getting her off Kadara.

—

Anna was silent as Lexi looked at the results of all the scans and tests, finding the med bay a refuge of calm from the bustle of Kadara. “What’s the bad news?” she asked with a nervous smile.

“You could use a few meals that aren't protein bars, but everything’s healing nicely. Your drinking has me concerned though. Even for a biotic you’re consuming too much to be healthy. I don’t see any liver damage yet, but if you keep it up it’ll start to show.” Lexi said, scrolling through the results on her data pad. After hearing about Kadara, she’d been concerned that Anna’s injuries would be slow to heal but hadn’t seen any evidence of that.

Anna huffed slightly at the statement, wincing slightly at the tug in her chest. “Kadara’s not known for it’s great drinking water so moonshine is the next best thing.”

Lexi hummed at the statement but decided to say nothing, remembering what Scott had told her earlier; that if she was going to get anything out of his sister it couldn’t be obvious. “I could take your cast off if you want though, it’s ready to be removed.”

“Thanks.”

“And if you ever need to talk I’m an excellent set of ears.” Lexi said as she started to remove the cast.

Anna watched Lexi work, using the movements to ease the tightness in her throat. “Thanks but I’ve got enough issues that even a hanar would run away.”

Lexi shrugged while setting the cutter to the side and pulling the plaster apart with her hands. “If you ever change your mind…”

Anna watched as the cast came off and felt the rush of air that hit her skin. There were still a few healing bruises, and it was a bit paler than the rest of her, but like Lexi had said it was pretty much healed. Absently rubbing a hand up and down her arm, she started to gently flex her wrist to regain movement while half-listening to Lexi.

“-you should have most functionality after that. How’s your implant been fairing?”

Anna shrugged, “Hurt like hell the first few times I used it after arriving but hasn’t been giving me problems since.”

Lexi nodded while quickly tapping out notes on her data pad. “Any headaches?”

“Other than the occasional migraine, no.”

“Hm. And how are your ribs feeling? You must of taken some hard hits.”

“ _You don’t know the half of it._ ” Anna thought while answering, “Okay, but they remind me every so often that they’re not quite healed.”

“I didn’t see any indication of the procreation blocker, do you want me to run some tests?” Lexi looked up while asking the question and saw how Anna was studiously not looking at her. “It’ll be confidential. Scott won’t know.”

Anna shook her head, wanting any and all discussion of her sex life to stop. There had been a few one-night stands since coming to Kadara but Nakamoto had always discreetly made sure she was alright. “I’m fine.”

“If you ever need anything when we’re in port, it’s no problem to ask.” Lexi said while making more notes. “Have you thought about getting a SAM implant? Your records say that-”

“No.”

“But it wouldn’t take that long, I could-”

“I’m not letting the AI into my head.” Anna said while getting up from the bed. “I know you think he’s the greatest, but all SAM does is remind me of things I’d rather forget.”

Muttering a quick thanks, Anna all but ran into the hallway and took a breath. Once she’d calmed down enough she made her way up the ladder, curious about the upper level of the ship. Making her way to the main hub, she saw Scott at the terminal and made her way towards him.

“Hey.” she said while sliding up to him. She’d missed Scott ever since waking up on the Nexus alone and confused, so seeing him now was a reminder of the better times on Earth. Over the years they’d drifted apart and Anna knew that was mostly on her, but he’d always been there for her when she needed it.

Scott looked up at the sound of Anna’s voice and straightened while smiling. “I hope T’Perro wasn’t that bad.”

Anna shrugged while glancing around the room. “She tried to get a SAM implant in my head.”

“And?”

“What do you think?”

“You could’ve changed your mind.”

“I didn’t.”

“Scott! I managed to get-” Vetra said as she walked into the hub with a data pad in her hand, cutting off when she saw Anna standing there.

Anna narrowed her eyes at seeing Vetra, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Nyx.”

Scott watched as Vetra glared back at Anna. “Ryder.”

“I see that you’re still an Initiative lackey.”

“And you’re still coasting on your family name.”

“You know what Vetra? You can kiss my-”

“Hey!” Scott said sharply, cutting his sister off and stepping in between them. “Vetra, I think Gil has a list of some things that he needs for the Nomad. Why don’t you go see what you’ll be able to get while we’re here.”

Vetra’s mandibles flared as she glared at Anna but did as Scott asked. Once she was gone, Scott turned to Anna while raising an eyebrow.

“Ask Nyx about it.” Anna said while defensively holding up her hands.

Scott sighed, not wanting to push it but at the same time wanting to know what caused the bad blood between the two. Vetra had never given any indication that she knew Anna so their reaction to each other was surprising. But instead of bringing it up he asked, “You see the rest of the ship yet?”

“Nope, just this place.” She glanced at the terminal that was set for an Angaran sniper rifle. “Oohh that’s nice. You scavenge a lot?”

“Yeah. We find resources and trade for the schematics.” Scott said, making a mental note to find out if she had enough weapons. From what he’d seen, Kadara wasn’t kind to those who weren’t protected. Even with the so-called cease fire in place. “That way the Nexus doesn’t have to divy up resources even more."

“That’s…pretty smart actually.” Anna admitted with a smile while scrolling through the schematics. “Must really piss Tann off when you don’t get your stuff straight from the Nexus.”

“I managed to convince him that trading with the Angara would be a good step in building a relationship with them.” Scott said, leaning against the console. “Y’know…if you stayed you could get some pretty nice gear.”

Anna paused in her scrolling and straightened up to look at her brother. “Scott…”

“C’mon, it can’t be that hard to leave. Dad wanted-”

Anna slammed her palms down on the console, ignoring the flash of pain from her arm as she glared at Scott. “You know what _Dad_ wanted, Scott? He wanted me in Andromeda no matter what. So when I refused he drugged me and stuck me aboard the Nexus!”

Scott took a step back at the revelation, not sure what to think. “I’m sure that-“

Anna pushed off the console and pointed a shaking finger at her brother. “ _Don’t even try to make excuses for him._ I can’t even tell him how much I fucking hate him for all of this because he’s dead. So you don’t get to say what he might have wanted.”

“Just-”

“No! You always defended him when we were back in the Milky Way. You don’t get to do it now.” Without waiting for a response Anna stormed out of the room, not caring that most of the crew had come out into the main hub to see what the commotion was.

Somehow making it back to her apartment Anna ignored her vibrating omni-tool, knowing it was Scott wanting to talk to her; to explain away Alec’s shit actions. Taking it off for the first time since Reyes had given it to her, Anna tossed it onto the table before laying down on her mattress, closing her eyes and let the tears fall until she finally sunk into sleep.


	6. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While out on a run for the Collective, Anna meets up with someone unexpected.

Mason waited in the cockpit of the shuttle, wondering if Anna would show up. It had been three weeks since she’d returned to the port and Reyes felt that was enough time to get field ready. But Mason was still trying to figure out Reyes’s angle on Ryder. Reyes had spent more resources then what he thought was necessary when she got attacked. First making sure Ryder would be alright by moving her to Dralliur, then a safe house further in the Badlands.

He’d been surprised at Reyes’s reaction- wanting to confront Sloane directly before they’d had a real chance at weakening her. Reyes said he was protecting an asset, Ryder was one hell of a shot plus a biotic, but Mason wasn’t so sure. It had taken him the better of an hour to talk sense into the man.

Mason had been with Reyes from the beginning, and in a casual relationship with him for almost as long. And while that let him see through some of the smoke and mirrors Reyes employed to keep his identity a secret, he was still left out of the loop on some things. 

Mason could now see that this was one of them.

He hadn’t even wanted to use Ryder for the raid, wanting to take his usual crew. But Reyes dismissed the suggestion outright, telling the man that he needed to see where Ryder’s loyalties were.

_“So this is a test?” Mason asked with narrowed eyes, trying to see the pieces on the board that Reyes was setting up._

_“Sort of. The Pathfinder might not be on our side when we make the final push and I want to get a feel for where his sister will stand. She might be with us but she’s barely loyal. The other Ryder has been bouncing around the Badlands since he got here, so chances of you running into him are good.” Reyes said as he lifted the glass of whiskey to finish it._

_Knowing that the sharp tone implied that Reyes was speaking as the Charlatan instead of a friend, Mason nodded his understanding._

He was so deep in thought that he didn’t hear movement in the back of the shuttle until a figure dropped into the seat next to him. Startled, Mason jumped slightly and heard a laugh. Taking a breath to regain his composure, he turned and saw that it was Anna.

“Good thing I like you, otherwise I might’ve been tempted to really scare you.” Anna said as she set her helmet down and started to buckle herself in.

“Ryder. Nice of you to show up.” Mason commented, discreetly taking in her appearance as he started up the shuttle and eased it out of the bay. The circles under her eyes and a suppressed yawn told him that she was tired, but she was alive so he guessed this could be chalked up to a ‘win’ for now. “Your arm good if we need to fight?”

“It’ll be fine, made some mods to my gauntlet.” Anna replied while realizing she’d never said that her arm was healed in the first place. Turning to look at him she continued, “How did you know? Wait, I know the answer; the almighty Charlatan. Am I ever going to meet them?”

“ _If you only knew._ ” Mason thought as he smiled at the comment. Reyes had earned his loyalty five times over but also knew that if his secret got out then there would be a short list to run down.

“Word spread that you were on the Tempest so I assumed you got their doc to take it off. Since y’know, your brother’s the Pathfinder.”

“Damn, I was trying to keep that a secret. Now everyone knows about my Pathfinder connection.”

“I think they knew before and didn’t care. But now that he’s actually here…it might be dangerous.”

“We’re on Kadara, Mason.” Anna said as she propped her feet on the console and leaned back. “It’s always dangerous.”

“You know what I mean.” Working together so much, Mason had started to become friends with Anna. But even then they only really interacted when on Collective buisness, never when she was working at Tartarus. So he didn’t want this to blow up in his face. 

Not when Reyes was putting so much into this.

Anna was silent for a moment before replying, “I’ll be careful.”

Mason cast a sideways glance at her, there was something about her that struck him as off but didn’t know what was causing it. Not sure how to broach the subject, they passed the rest of the flight in relative silence. Reaching the coordinates he set the shuttle down and walked to the back as the ramp lowered, Ryder following him. “The containers-”

He cut off as an explosion rocked the shuttle. Thrown to the side, Anna’s body stopped his as they pitched towards the wall. It took a few seconds for his rattled brain to catch up with the rest of him and realize what had just happened.

Anna shook her head to clear the ringing in her ears, “You okay?”

“Yeah, I think so.” Mason replied as the buzzing in his head settled a little and they disentangled. “What the hell was that?”

“Someone got here before us, that’s what.” Another explosion sounded outside and Anna started to look for her helmet, it had been thrown somewhere in the explosion. Finding it she then double-checked her Avenger, making sure it wouldn’t jam on her, before shoving her helmet on. A quick deep breath to steady herself and she started to cautiously make her way towards the back.

Glancing at her HUD, Anna squinted at the display and how it wouldn’t give her a clear reading. “ _Must of gotten damaged in the explosion._ ” she thought while giving it a sharp slap to the side it get it to work.

Hearing laughter through the comm she turned to see Mason behind her, his helmet obscuring his face but Anna knew he was smiling. “Shut up, it works.” she huffed while turning around.

“I know, I’ve done it too.” Mason said as he looked at his own HUD and saw that they were outnumbered. Knowing that she was seeing the same numbers he continued, “I’d suggest that we leave but the Charlatan doesn’t want to lose the cargo.”

“Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be.”

Anna slipped a thermal clip into her rifle and charged up her biotics before rushing out of the shuttle. Bullets bounced off her shield as she dove for the nearest cover, managing to get a few shots in as Mason went the opposite way to hopefully catch them by surprise. Glancing at her HUD before popping up, Anna threw a lance towards a group and managed to scatter them-getting a few shots in the process.

She knew they were hopelessly outnumbered, but found that she didn’t care. The repetition of firing her weapon alternating with her biotics, combined with moving before her cover was exposed was as natural as breathing.

Throwing her last grenade, Anna used her jump jet to pull back enough from the explosion and felt like they finally had a handle on things when a shadow passed over her. Looking up she saw it was a jump ship. “We’ve got more incoming!”

Sliding behind some rocks, Anna checked how many clips she had and made a face at seeing there was only one left (she hadn’t counted on people actually showing up). Swinging her rifle onto its maglocks, Anna pulled out her knife while deciding to get up close and personal with some. She had the element of surprise because she managed to hide before they’d arrived. Pressing herself against the rocks, she tried to still her ragged breathing.

Hearing the crunch of gravel as one neared, Anna waited until they were almost near her before tackling him to the ground and wrestling him into submission. Moving almost as quickly, she sank the knife between his chest plate and helmet. Scrambling up as he bled out, Anna heard shouts and knew that the element of surprise was gone. Whipping around, she threw her knife at the nearest one and it sank into his shoulder. Then she’s a streak of biotic blue running towards the second, stopping only to pull out the knife from her target's shoulder and plunge it into his neck.

She could have tried to take down the rest of the group with just her knife and biotics, but a bullet bouncing off her shield and discomfort coming from her neck told her that it wouldn’t be possible. Not forgetting her knife, Anna sped towards cover and dived behind a crate just as her shield failed with a spark.

Mason watched Anna tear through the two men like they were nothing and ran towards her, knowing she couldn’t take on the whole group by herself. “Wanna have some fun together?” he asked, tossing her some spare ammo he’d picked up from the first group.

“More than we’ve already had? I’m up for it.” Anna replied with a slight laugh in her voice as she caught the clips and hurriedly stashed them. Her shield had regenerated so she powered it up before moving.

Ignoring the irritation at the base of her neck, Anna gathered her biotics and charged towards the group; throwing a singularity when she was close enough. Gritting her teeth at holding so many up in the air, Anna watched as Mason managed to get two headshots and wounded others. Her arms trembling, Anna collapsed the field before Mason could get any more and almost fell to the ground exhausted. A second after that her shield failed again and a bullet buried itself in her shoulder. 

“Time to go!” she shouted to Mason, pulling out her rifle and firing while slowly backing up to try and hold them off. Then she heard gunfire by the cliff and whipped around, spotting a flash of blue and white armor as it disappeared.

Ducking behind an outcropping, Anna decided to take a chance and opened her comm to a general frequency. “Scott?”

“ _Anna! Thought we could lend a hand since we were in the area and heard the commotion. You alright with that?_ ”

If she wasn’t so bone tired she would’ve laughed. “Just leave one alive for me.”

Scott’s laugh filled her ears, “ _Copy that._ ”

Wincing at the pain in her shoulder, Anna loaded the last thermal clip into her rifle and started firing. A shot rang out from above her and the nearest Outcast’s head snapped back as he fell to the ground. Two more shots followed and two more crumpled to the ground. That alone evened the playing field as Anna rejoined the fight, setting at least two on fire with thermal clips.

Once the Outcast's had been taken care of, Anna sat on the rocks she’d been hiding behind and waited a moment before removing her armor to get a look at the bullet wound. The black and red shoulder guard had taken the brunt of the damage and her undersuit was ripped, but there wasn’t much blood and Anna figured if she got her hands on some medigel she’d be alright. “ _Maybe Nakamoto can spare some._ ”

She also realized that Mason had disappeared and wondered if he’d gone to check on the supplies. A sharp whistle drew her attention upwards and saw Scott’s head sticking out of the cliff side. Suppressing a laugh she shouted, “Nice of you to show up!”

“Y’know I have to save the day since I’m the Pathfinder right?” Scott shouted back. He turned his head to one side as someone else spoke to him and he disappeared for a few seconds before reappearing. “Hold on, we’ll come down.”

“Okay.” She pushed off the rock with leaded legs and slowly walked towards the shuttle to see if they needed to call for a ride. Her shoulder felt like it was on fire and pressing her hand on it lessened the pain. 

Suddenly the Nomad came rolling around the corner, making Anna drop her hand, and as it settled to a stop she wondered how this was going to go. They hadn’t talked since she stormed out of the Tempest and Anna wasn’t sure how Scott was.

“ _Although he seemed his chipper self on the comms. Maybe that’s a good sign._ ” She straightened as Scott, Liam, and Vetra climbed out and made their way towards her.

“Here, thought you might need this. I remember how you used to inhale food after training.” Scott tossed a ration bar in her direction and Anna caught it with her injured shoulder, grimacing slightly as it sent a flare of pain down her arm.

“You okay?” Liam asked, his tone implying that he was only asking because Scott was around and they wouldn’t even be pausing whatever they’re in the middle of if he wasn’t her brother.

Anna glared at Liam, “Yeah. I’ll be fine with some medigel.”

“I think we have some in the Nomad. Vetra, why don’t you grab a pack?” Scott said as he walked closer to Anna.

“But-”

“Please.” Scott’s tone told Vetra that it was an order rather than a request and with a mandible twitch, Vetra went back to the Nomad. “Glad we could help, we were headed towards a monolith when we came across you. You out here alone?”

“Mason should-” Anna cut off at the sound of gunfire and snapped her head towards the direction it came from.

Breaking into a run she was dimly aware of Scott and Liam following. But she didn’t care, making sure Mason was alright was top priority.

“-not telling Kelly anything!” Anna heard as she came to a stop and saw that Mason was alright. Glancing at the Outcast, she could see that he had blood running down the side of his face while Mason’s foot was on his chest.

“Then your body will have to be the message instead.” Mason said as he moved the pistol towards the Outcast’s head.

“Hey!”

Anna startled at the shout, as did Mason and the bullet grazed the man’s head. She turned around to see Scott aiming his own pistol at Mason and didn’t like the anger in her brother’s eyes. Putting a hand on her knife, she clearly saw Scott’s finger on the side of his Equalizer and realized that he was going to use force as a last option. But she still didn’t remove her hand from the handle.

“Let him go.” Scott said, slowly advancing towards him and Anna. He might not care for Sloane and the Outcast's, but he wasn’t going to let Mason just execute one.

The comment caught Mason by surprise and he turned to look at the Pathfinder. Taking advantage of the distraction, the Outcast grabbed Mason’s foot and gave it a sharp yank. Mason went down while the other man scrambled up and ran away.

“Hey!” Anna yelled, giving chase while pulling out her sidearm. But she couldn’t get a clear shot and lost him. Frustrated, she arrived back in time to see Mason shove Scott while Liam raised his pistol in response.

“Listen Pathfinder-”

“Stop!” Anna slid between the men and started to gently push Mason back, knowing that he could maneuver around her if he really wanted to. She noticed the anger that was burning in his eyes and if she didn’t want shots to be exchanged then she needed to play this smart. “C’mon, it’s not worth it for an Outcast.”

“The hell it is! He’s going to crawl back to Sloane and tell her what happened. Now she’s going to think that the Pathfinder is on her side.” Mason glared at Anna, ready to just leave her here in the Badlands and tell Reyes she’s not worth the trouble.

“Kelly’s still pissed that I let Terev go, so I don’t think this’ll change her mind.” Scott shot back, taking a half step towards Mason.

“Hey!” Anna held out her hand towards Scott to stop him from advancing, ignoring the screaming pain that shot out from her shoulder. “You need to leave Scott.”

“But-”

“This doesn’t concern you.”

“Fine.” Scott shot them a withering glare before motioning for Liam and Vetra to lower their weapons before tossing the medigel pack at Anna’s feet. “Talk to you later.”

Anna felt a stab of regret but swallowed it as she watched Scott head back towards the Nomad. It wasn’t until the rover was gone that she gave Mason a shove. “Why the fuck didn’t you tell me we were going after Outcast supplies?”

“Intel said we could handle it.” Mason holstering his pistol before running a hand through his dishwater blonde hair.

Anna let out a frustrated sound and wanted to hit something, mostly Mason. “Well it was wrong and we almost got killed. Would have if Scott hadn’t shown up.”

“And that’s why I didn’t pull my pistol. You get a look at the damage on the shuttle?”

“Don’t change the subject.” Anna stalked after Mason as he moved towards a crate and started to inspect it to make sure the supplies were intact. “We got our asses handed to us by the Outcast's and that’s what you don’t want Sloane to hear.”

Mason looked up from the crate and grabbed the top of Anna’s chestplate, yanking her close. “Listen, you don’t get to have a ‘holier-than’ attitude. The Charlatan wanted to send a message to Sloane that the Collective isn’t just a rag-tag group to be ignored. We want to take over the port. That’s why your protection payment is being covered by the organization, that’s why Reyes took care of you when you were hurt. You’re valuable as a biotic and you follow whatever orders the Charlatan gives us. Just like the rest of us in the Collective. Doesn’t matter who your brother is.”

He narrowed his eyes and let the words sink in before continuing, “Understood?”

Anna was silent, eyes wide from the forceful message, and nodded her understanding.

Mason took a breath as he let go of his hold on Anna, taking a step back from her. “Now, do we have to call for a ride or not?”

Anna shook her head, “From what I saw we should be fine.”

“Good. Let’s get these crates onto the shuttle.”

It didn’t take long to pack up what supplies hadn’t been too damaged and they fell into a heavy silence while flying back to the port. Mason knew Anna wasn’t happy about having to choose between the Collective and her brother, but she was going to have to deal with it.

And he could tell Reyes, with some confidence, that when they moved to take over the port, Anna would remain with the Collective. 

Even if her brother wasn't on their side.


	7. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ryder twins finally get some time to hash things out.

Anna’s omni-tool chirped and after setting down the coffee cup, flipped it open. A message from Scott was at the top.

_Swinging by Kadara on our way to Havarl. Want to hitch a ride and see the Angaran homeworld?_

She stared at the message for a few seconds. This was the first time he’d messaged since their disagreement in the Badlands. The only other time they’d gone this long without really speaking was after their mother died and things got really bad for her. So the offer to tag along seemed like a step in the right direction. 

But if Scott could try, then so could she.

_Sure. Just give me an ETA so I can be ready._

\--

The sun was out and the smell of sulfur wasn’t that bad as the Tempest moved towards the dock. After what seemed like forever for the ramp lowered and Scott appeared with some of the crew and his pet pyjack not far behind.

“Don’t tell me I can’t go.” she said as Gary bounded towards her and climbed up to her arms. She gave a smile at the animal and held out a finger for it wrap its hand around.

“No, just a change of plans. We need to make some repairs before heading to Havarl and Vetra thought the parts might be here. It’ll take about a day.” Scott said as he neared, guessing she’d been looking forward to getting off Kadara. “But I have some business in the Badlands if you want to tag along.”

“Yeah. That’d be nice.”

“Good. It’ll take a few to get the Nomad prepped, you wanna wait in the Tempest?”

Anna shook her head while setting Gary down, “Since it’s going to be a few I need to make a quick stop in the Market, have to pick up a mod I’ve been waiting for. Meet you outside the gates?”

“See you there.” Scott watched as Anna gave Gary one last quick pat before heading towards the doors that separated the dock from the marketplace.

When she stepped out of the guardhouse, Anna was surprised to see Scott standing next to the Nomad alone. “Where’s Liam? You always liked the cute ones.” She teased as she finished adjusting her holster, because she’d noticed the glances between them when she’d been on the Tempest.

“Helping with repairs. Or as much as Gil lets anyone help.” Scott said, feeling his face heat up. Him and Liam had grown close over the last month, but there was still that beat of awkwardness between them. So Scott figured some time apart would be good. He could clear his head and think about things objectively. 

“I gave the rest shore leave, it’s been awhile since we had any kind of downtime. I thought Sloane made the port a no gun zone.”

“She did, but we’re going out into the Badlands. You know from experience what it’s like.” She looked at the rover and wondered what Scott was up to. But she didn’t say anything as they climbed in and rumbled away from the port. 

The drive through the Badlands was mostly quiet, aside from the odd comment. After what seemed like forever, Scott pulled off the worn trail and opened the hatch.

“This is your errand?” Anna asked while raising an eyebrow, looking at the base of the large cliff they’d stopped at.

“Yup.” Scott said as he rummaged around the back for his helmet. “It’ll be fun.”

“Fun?”

“Yeah, like we used to do back on Earth.” Scott gave Anna a wink before putting on his helmet and heading towards the base of the cliff, looking for a good foothold as he stretched. Back before things had really taken a nosedive, both of them had enjoyed rock climbing. They’d frequently gone on trips to just climb and not worry about their mother’s illness, Alec’s absence, or that Anna always seemed on the edge of another bender.

When they were climbing, all of that fell away.

Anna watched Scott walk away and raised an eyebrow, “Back on Earth we had ropes, harnesses…y’know actual hardware.”

“And here we have jump jets and armor. You coming?” Scott threw over his shoulder as he started to make his way up the side of the rock.

She watched Scott for a few seconds before letting a slight smile appear, even though her helmet was covering it. 

“No jump jets though.” she said after doing a few stretches to warm-up.

“No jump jets. Unless I’m plummeting to my death.”

Scott glanced over to see Anna pick out a foothold not far from where he was and waited until she’d started her climb to say, “Can I patch SAM into your comm? He’ll be a big help for the climb.”

Anna looked at Scott and while it was hard to see his expression, knew he wouldn’t ask unless SAM could be. Even if she still wanted nothing to do with the AI. Reaching for a handhold, she said, “Sure.”

Scott had been expecting Anna to decline so he was surprised at her agreement. But he wasn’t going to press the issue, “Hey SAM, hop onto Anna’s comm link.”

_Hello Anna. I am sorry for the loss of Alec._

“SAM.” Anna replied simply, more focused on climbing than talking to the AI.

—

_Anna, Scott. Wind speed is increasing. It is recommended that you wait until it passes in five seconds._

“Got it.” Anna replied as she paused, the wind buffeting around her a few seconds later.

As she waited, she scouted up ahead for a handhold and found one just above her head. Shifting slightly, she made sure her foot was securely in the groove before pushing up and letting go. “How much farther?”

“Almost at the top.” Scott replied, sparing a glance and seeing Anna just behind him. They hadn’t talked that much during the climb, except to call out their placements, which was fine because climbing without gear took up most of their concentration. 

Even with SAM’s help.

Besides, he was still trying to figure out how to bring up everything that had happened since he’d arrived at Kadara. Normally after fighting they’d clear the air, but there was just so much that Scott wondered if they could ever square it all away. “ _Even if we can’t, maybe we can just start talking again._ ” he thought while climbing over the ledge and onto the top of the cliff.

Taking off his helmet, Scott ran a hand through his sweat-slicked hair while deeply inhaling. Finding himself alone, he took the opportunity to switch to his private channel. “SAM?”

_Yes, Scott?_

“Log off. Pathfinder authorization. And don’t worry if my vitals spike, I’ll be fine.”

_Very well Scott. Logging off._

Scott walked away from the ledge while switching back to the shared channel, hearing Anna’s footsteps a few minutes later. Wordlessly Scott reached into his pack and pulled out a canteen of water, taking a drink before tossing it to Anna.

Catching the canteen, Anna silently raised an eyebrow before taking a sip. The cold, clear water was unexpected and she sputtered which turned into a laugh.

“Good huh?” Scott asked while breaking into a smile.

“If you mean that it doesn’t taste like rotten eggs for once.” Anna quipped back as she tossed the canteen back to Scott. “Remember that one climb we took in California?”

Scott knitted his eyebrows in confusion at the mention of one of the last trips they’d taken, “Pinnacals? Where you fell and almost broke your leg?”

“You told me that hold wasn’t secure but I didn’t listen, so when the pin slipped I fell. Thank God for biotics.”

“And when Dad heard what happened he nearly blew a gasket but lit up when we got to the part where your biotics held.” Scott finished with a smile, hoping to make Anna realize that while Alec had been absent for a lot of their lives there were still good memories of him.

“Then he insisted on getting us new gear and going with us the next time we went out. I think we went to Arches for that.”

“It was Joshua Tree. Dad took a few weeks off from…work and we made a mini-vacation out of it remember? I think we got him to teach us some new holds.”

Anna looked at Scott’s face against the lengthening shadows with narrowed eyes. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“What-”

“Don’t try to deny it. He had his moments, but that doesn’t excuse what he did.”

Scott held his tongue to avoid starting an argument, instead bringing up a different subject. “You’re part of the Collective aren't you?”

“Who told you?” Anna asked after a moment of silence and debating if she should deny it or not. She’d tried to be careful who she was seen with and what she was doing while Scott was around, not wanting to give him any more ammunition.

“I overheard some Outcast’s talking about how the Charlatan managed to recruit the Pathfinder’s sister. Plus when I ran into you out here you were hitting an Outcast supply drop. Is…this like the Reds?”

She heard the veiled anger in his voice and clenched jaw muscles as he brought up something she’d very much like to forget. “It’s not.” she tried to assure Scott, feeling her mouth go dry while pressing her hands into the rock.

“Then why?”

“I…can’t say.” She’d never been told that she couldn’t divulge the circumstances of joining the Collective, but at the same time felt like Scott would offer to bail her out and she didn’t need any more of people doing that for her. “But believe me that it’s not like the Reds.”

“Ever met the Charlatan?”

“They don’t trust me enough. I just help collect shipments and flex my biotic muscles when needed.”

Scott laughed slightly at the last statement, “Bet you’re pretty good at it.”

“I haven’t had any complaints. Well from the Charlatan at least. Besides, having your brother as the Pathfinder helps-from the sound of it you’ve been pretty badass.”

“Just how much have you heard?”

“Enough to say I’m impressed; Scott Ryder jumping into something not knowing what was on the other end. That’s something _I_ would do.”

Scott felt his face heat up at the mention of the monolith on Eos. He’d just been so caught up in meeting Peebee and discovering the monolith that he hadn’t thought, he’d just jumped-not caring about the consequences for once. “What can I say, maybe you rubbed off on me.”

At that Anna gave Scott a playful shove that sent him slightly sideways. “Let’s just hope that’s the only thing that you picked up from me.”

Scott stood and stretched his muscles after sitting for so long, holding out a hand to help Anna up. “About how things ended when I first showed up. I-”

“Whatever. I think we both fucked up there.”

“True. What do you say we head back to port? It’ll be late by the time we get back so you can stay on the Tempest. We can head to Havarl in the morning.”

Anna followed Scott as he headed towards the trail that she’d noticed when they were cooling down and was silent after the invitation to spend the night on the Tempest, wondering if Scott was still trying to get her to leave Kadara for good. “ _It doesn’t help he’s with the Initiative._ ” she thought while staring at the back of her brother’s head.

“So?” Scott broke into Anna’s thoughts and she shook her head.

“I can’t. Stay on the ship that is. I can go to Havarl though. If you still want me to tag along.”

Scott looked at Anna and saw that she was telling the truth. “Yeah. I do.” Passing the rest of the hike in silence, he was hopeful that they’d started to take a step in the right direction.

—

They’d gotten back to the port late, like Scott had said, and for a quick second Anna had thought about taking Scott’s offer of staying on the Tempest. But then she’d spotted some of his crew and was reminded that he was part of something that she’d rejected. It wasn’t as simple as just being ‘Scott Ryder’s washed-up older sister.’

Pushing the thoughts to the side, Anna quickly made her way up the ramp of the Tempest and opened her mouth to greet Scott when her omni-tool buzzed. Heart falling, she looked to see that the Charlatan needed her for payment collection. Clenching her jaw, she swallowed the disappointment and saw Scott giving her a questioning look.

“I can’t go. Collective stuff.” Anna sighed before turning around and started to make her way back down the ramp.

“Yes, you can.” Scott moved to catch up with Anna. “Just ignore it. The Charlatan can wait.”

“I can’t, Scott.”

“You can, you just don’t want to. You said this wasn’t like the Reds but so far I’m not seeing it. And I’m not bailing you out like Dad did.” Scott knew it was a low blow, but at the same time he was frustrated with Anna’s willingness to go along with the Collective like she hadn’t learned from last time.

“I didn’t ask him to and don’t worry, I won’t with you either.” Anna snapped back, tired of Scott dredging up the past. Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye she saw Scott’s second-in-command come into view, realizing their conversation must have drawn her out. Still angry, Anna started to walk away without saying goodbye. But then she had a realization that made her pause and turn around.

“I was wrong yesterday. This is like the Reds and I’m glad because I finally feel fucking useful again.” She snapped, seeing the way Scott’s shoulders stiffened at the statement. Glaring at him one last time Anna stomped back down the ramp and tried to ignore the well of anger in her chest.

Scott folded his arms and watched Anna leave, mad at himself more than Anna because he let himself get dragged back into old shit that never ended well. 

“ _And I already have enough to deal with._ ” he thought with a mental sigh and absently rubbed his hand across his forehead.

“Did I hear that Anna’s part of the Collective? And what was that about the Reds?”

Scott turned to see Cora standing at the top of the ramp, hands on her hips with an eyebrow raised. The second question made Scott realize that she’d heard the exchange and hoped that no one else had. If it got out that the Pathfinder’s sister could be connected to one of the most notorious gangs on Earth…he could practically hear Tann's voice in his head.

“It’s a family matter.” he replied while walking into the ship. “SAM, tell Kallo we’re ready to take off.”

“It’s a problem if she’s part of the Collective.” Cora followed Scott as he made his way through the cargo bay. “We’re here only because Kelly’s tolerating us. Barely after the whole Terev thing. If she finds out you’re siding with them-”

“I’m not.” Scott snapped while turning to face Cora. He was getting tired of people judging him based on his sister’s actions. First in the Alliance, then at the Nexus, and now on Kadara. “I’m only seeing my sister on a planet she chose to go to. Besides, I think Kelly’s plenty aware of what she does.”

“You’re going to have to decide who you’re going to support eventually. With all the mineral deposits in the Badlands an outpost would really help. And that’s only going to happen when this conflict resolves itself.”

“I know.” Scott simply said before turning back around and moving farther into the ship as it lifted off. 

It wasn’t like he was going to say, ‘I’m siding with the Collective because my sister’s with them’ because from the outside neither was the best option. And Sloane still had control over the port and most of the slums, even if he didn’t agree with her flooding the place with Oblivion and forcing people to pay to live in the port. Letting out a sigh, Scott hated that everything was so twisted up and complicated; arriving in Andromeda, Habitat Seven, Kadara and the Nexus, his relationship with his sister. He couldn’t pull on one string without another unraveling.

“Everythin’ okay?” Liam asked as Scott stomped towards his quarters to change into his workout kit so he could hit something and get rid of all this frustration.

“Just my sister being her normal self.” Scott grumped, knowing if she wasn’t always so stubborn then they possibly wouldn’t be in this situation.

“I thought you were going to try an’ settle things.”

“We did. Well the earlier stuff.” Scott ran a hand through his hair and leaned against the wall. “She had a last minute…thing pop up and couldn’t tag along like we’d planned.”

“From what I’ve heard that sounds a lot like her. But you’re still talking right?”

Scott looked up at the statement, surprised it had come from Liam of all people. “Right. I guess that’s better than nothing. But, Anna likes to jump first and ask questions later. No matter how much trouble that gets her in.”

“So _that's_ why you’re so by the book, can't have both Ryder’s leaping off the cliff at the same time. It’s a few hours till Havarl, want to get some training in? I could use a good workout.”

“You sure?” Scott asked with a genuine smile. He’d gotten some clarity when it came to Liam and that he’d try to move their friendship, relationship, whatever it was forwards.

“Sure. It’s been a while since we both got a good sweat going.”

Scott laughed at the statement and nodded, promising to meet in the corner of the cargo bay where they’d set everything up. His mood lifting slightly, Scott decided he was going to stop trying to fix Anna’s life for her. He’d be there when she needed it, but she had to be the one who decided when that would be.


End file.
